Your going out with ..who?!?!(boys dorm) Al

[.RORY KAY BLAKE !]

Rory ducted through the portrait hole. She'd been hearing some rumors that she found totally bizarre and hard to believe, almost to the point of being laughable. A Potter and a Malfoy?? seriously! Snorting at the idea and the indignation it put on her best friend she was on her way to let him know about the schools version of the little muggle game 'telephone' her grandmother had told her about once. Most likely Al had stopped to help Narcissa up after she tripped, something along those lines, he was always nice to a fault were girls were concerned after all...and someone had seen it, it had taken off and twisted and there you go! Yeah, that had to be what was going on here..

Spotting Al's wild head of hair bent over a book in the corner she made her way over to him and plopped down in the seat across from his..

" Your 'never' going to guess who the rumor chains have you dating.. "

She waited that suspenseful pause that everyone just seems to naturally wait when sharing astounding news..

" Narcissa Malfoy! Can you believe that?! "

[mgirl03]

Al had been worrying for a while now about telling Rory what had happened between him and Cissa. True, he had set out to tell her that same night, but his nerves had gotten the better of him--plus she hadn't been around and he hadn't had a chance since. So as he labored over a book in the corner of the common room, he chew un-characteristically on his lip and wondered how he should go about telling her. She was his best friend, and she might surprise him but...c'mon, Cissa was a Malfoy and Rory would...find that surprising at the least.

Of course, he wasn't the only one with a secret. Rory had yet to tell him that she was dating Soren. He knew, of course (as he had been spying, unfortunately), but she hadn't told him face to face, and yet rumors were spreading like wildfire. The same way they were with him and Cissa. It was all so brilliant...not. The rumor mill was utter rubbish.

Mind back on Rory and telling her his secret, his heart just about sank to his shoes when she plopped down in front of him and told him who the rumor chains 'had him dating', with an amused tone. Oh, even more brilliant, she didn't believe it possible. Al gulped, running a hand through his hair and refusing to meet Rory's eyes. After a moment, he dared to lift his gaze to hers, just to look away, drop his book and take her by the hand.

"C'mon," he muttered, standing and pulling her after him. He half dragged her up the staircase to the boy's dorms, opening the door to see two of his roommates still in there. Pointing a hand at the door, he said firmly, "Get out. No, don't give me that look, both of you. I need a mo'." They glared at him but left while muttering, and Al sigh, motioning for Rory to sit on one of the beds. He remained standing, running a hand through his hair again.

"Rory...I..." he said softly, staring at the ground as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. Finally, with a wince, he met her eyes, and blurted out, "Cissa and I snogged in the room of requirement and now we're dating."

He winced again--that was a horrible way for that to come out, but it did, and now he was flushing about the neck and face and was watching Rory's eyes intently. He wondered what color they would turn--anger? Confusion? Sadness and disappointment? If she hated him because of this, or thought him an idiot, or-or...or was disappointed that he would date a Malfoy, he was pretty sure that his heart would break. Rory was his best friend an he took her opinions to heart, always.

[.RORY KAY BLAKE !]

When Al didn't look up and respond with a bought of laughter or a snide remark about the very idea of his dating a Malfoy, a rather unpleasant feeling assaulted her. A rather, foreboding, confusion riddled, unpleasant feeling... That feeling only intensified as he progressed to avoiding her gaze and then all out dragging her upstairs to his dorm room.

Halfway registering the look of surprise thrown their way by a young first year on the way up the steps, she flashed the kid a nervous smile and shrugged as they passed by. For the most part though her attention was focused on the tousled head of hair ahead of her and what troubled thoughts were apparently clanging around in there. When he evicted his dorm mates she frowned, something was bothering him.. bad. When a sigh escaped him and he motioned that she should sit down, her eyes, a muted gold while climbing the steps, kicked up their intensity to a bright yellow. What the hell could be so bad that he would want her to sit down before he told her? Had he already heard the rumors himself? Was he as a lost as to how to get those spreading them to shut it? She'd gladly help pummel a few mouth runners if it were as simple as that.. watching Al's unusually nervous looking expression though she doubted it was as simple as that. Her mouth gone a bit dry she hoisted herself wordlessly onto the end of Al's own bed and waited.

Rory...I...Her gaze remained locked patiently on his face as he fumbled with her name and tried to sort out what it was he was trying to tell her. Normally Rory would have little patients and would tell the speaker to just spit it out already. But this wasn't just any speaker.. and she had the feeling it was no ordinary comment that he was trying to express either. His was her best friend, the guy that had been with her through thick and thin, stood by her and up for her on more occasions than she dare try to count. If he needed time to gather his thoughts then she'd bloody well find the will power to remain still for however long it took him to find the nerve to spill.

His wince as he finally met her eyes had her bracing for anything that might fallow...

Cissa and I snogged in the room of requirement and now we're dating.

She stared at him blankly for a moment, mouth slightly agape. Any thing that was of course, but the aching feeling of green emotion that rose in her throat and was no doubt on a course to put its feeling into visual effect in her eyes. Dropping her face into her hands she sighed and rubbed her faces as if in thought, not that the action was wasted, she did need to think.. wow...just, yeah.. wow. She told her heart to shut it, they'd been over this before. She had Soren now, he was sweet and kind and handsome and Al.. Al was just her best friend and that was the way it had to be, the way she wanted it to be. That said who was she to deny him a good snogging? She wanted him to be happy after all. Mentally beating back the jealous spark at the idea of him snogging someone she thought.. bloody hell... bashful around girls? Either Cissa had cornered and jumped him or Al had certainly come into his own awful quick.. and then there was that to, the subject of said snogging.. Cissa! The rumors were bloody true?! He was dating a bloody Malfoy?! When had the the house elves started insisting on payment and the world flipped on it's axis? Had he gone daft??

Risking a peak from behind her hands, her eyes again their typical stormy gray, her voice slightly muffled as only her eyes were visible, her voice was was a mixture of concern and mirth...

" Brilliant.. I mean... a Malfoy??..Al.. are you sure this is what you want?.... You know your hole bloody family is going to go ballistic if they find out right?.. They'll all thing you've gone daft in the head and James.. Merlin!.. bloody hell Al he'll never let you live it down!.."

True to their tight friendship Rory hadn't even had to think how to word her initial question.. she could have asked if Al knew what he was getting into, but really that was sort of irrelevant wasn't it? Did this make him happy? That was her foremost worry and concern, because the fact of the matter was if Al wasn't happy she just couldn't find it in herself to be happy either. That thought brought another worry to the surface.. along with the out pouring of rumors wrapped around something as juicy as a Potter / Malfoy hookup had come side rumors about the character of the the two involved parties. Some of the rumors she'd heard about Cissa's made her worry, but they could just be rumors right? A slight purple of fear tinged her eyes, tempered to a darker hew as it warred with the crimson of an angry thought, She thought about the rumor she had sat down to share in the common room and the conversation they were now having and frowned inside... if that girl hurt Al...

[mgirl03]

It was true that when Al finally blurted out what he had been trying to tell Rory (well, he would rather it have come out different, but what could you do), the sight of her just staring at him with her mouth open was not really a welcome one. And it didn't make him feel anybetter when she dropped her face into his hands and rubbed at it--it made him think that she was trying to figure out if he had gone mad, or something. Or maybe she was trying to figure out a way to talk to him without yelling. Maybe she was mad that he had gotten himself into this, was mad that he would dare date a Malfoy?

No, Rory wasn't like that. If Rory didn't like what he was doing, then she would have a damn good reason for yelling at him. This wasn't like their jokes and insults, this wasn't playful and un-important. This was very important, even if it was just Al dating, this was his first date, his first girlfriend, his first snog, and Rory knew that. She wouldn't yell at him, he was sure, unless she had a reason, one that would convince even Al that he had made a mistake. Because in all reality, he didn't think he had made a mistake--Cissa was a nice girl, talking to her had proved to bring a smile to his face, and dating her made him happy. So that meant that this was the right thing to do...right?

When Rory finally peeked up at him through her hands, he let out a slight breath at the sight of her eyes--their regular stormy gray. He listened, with a little twinge of annoyance, as she asked him if this was what he wanted, that his family would blow up, that James would tease him, that this was a Malfoy as she had put it. Really, the only thing that got him annoyed was the way she had said a Malfoy...Cissa had a name, after all, and he knew what her last name was. Did it really matter?

"Yeah, I'm sure that this is what I want," he said, forcing himself to take a deep breath and remain calm. He could see where she was coming from. After a pause, he moved to sit next to Rory on the bed and put his own head into his hands, gripping at his hair. "I mean...I know that her last name is Malfoy, that my family is going to go mad over this. But...Severus Snape, he was evil, and then he turned good. Well, if he could do that, then a Malfoy can be nice, right?"

Taking another deep breath, he continued, while glancing at Rory from underneath his eyelashes. "Rore she's...she's a really nice girl, y'know," he said softly, scuffing his foot against the floor. "We were talking, and she doesn't follow the Dark Lady, doesn't care about blood purity. She's just...she's nice and sweet and being with her...it makes me happy....it really does."

Flushing at the neck, Al looked back down to the floor. "My family...they're not going to want to accept this," he practically whispered. "But I like Cissa, and Cissa likes me, and she's not a bad person. So hopefully...I mean, I can take the ribbing from James. I'll live, that I'm not worried about...but my dad, or Uncle Ron...Grandpa, even, they're all going to focus on just her last name, and that's not fair! It's not, because that doesn't define her...she's not bad."

Looking up once more, he practically had a begging, pleading look in his eyes. Begging Rory to understand, to not judge Cissa, to see how much this meant to him. "This is my first girlfriend, Rore," he whispered. "I got the guts to-to kiss a girl, to ask her out. We talked, and I wasn't smooth like James, but I wasn't horrible either. We just..we got along and I really, really like her...but nobody's going to care about that."

Falling silent, he gripped at his hair for another moment, before letting his hands drop and his head hang, making him look miserable. The thought of Cissa made him feel a bit better, but it was over-rided by the thoughts of his family hating the girl, of maybe even refusing him to date her. He knew that James and Lily wouldn't like it either, but he had hopes that they would get over it and just tease him. But most important of all, he was wondering if he had the support of his best friend. Because if he did, he knew that he could get through anything.

"Do...Are you gonna care, that she's a Malfoy?" he finally asked softly, deciding that he might as well get the question that he so desperately wanted answered out into the open. "Will that matter to you?"

[.RORY KAY BLAKE !]

She had dropped her hands into her lap to toy with her own fingers, basically to keep them occupied and content, though her mind continued to focus of what Al was telling her and her eyes were entirely focused on him. He had a point when it came to the story behind Serverus Snape. And on top of that Cissa was a Ravenclaw wasn't she? One had to wonder if her change up of houses from the family's traditional stretch in Slytherin spoke more about her character than the stereotype the last name had earned over time. Cissa might not be all that bad a person..Rory would just have to hope for her friends sake that the other rumors regarding her rather flighty dating history weren't grounded in fact.

She listened to him fret over what his family, particularly certain members of it would think of him. Rory new that Al had a really close bond with his dad, and that the mans opinion would be paramount to a balm or a knife depending on his reaction. Al obviously feared what that reaction would be. We just..we got along and I really, really like her...but nobody's going to care about that. Dropping her gaze to her hands she waited for Al to finish his thoughts..after a few moments she answered him..

" You know your wrong... about your dad I mean, at least that's my take on it. See, he named you after that guy Snape right? Isn't your middle his first or some such? And that guy was a Slytherin right? So.. I'm just guessing, but I think your dad knows people can be different.. that its not the house or the name that really makes a person who they are, it's more how they choose to act towards others. If not, then why else name you after the bloke?"

Dropping into silence for a few moments she grimaced..

" Fraid I can't say the same for your grandpa or Mr. Weasley though.. your uncle's kind of un-swayable once his mind set..right? "

She turned and cast a half hearted grin at Al after referring to his uncle Ron's stubborn nature. The grin dropped though as she watched him intently for a moment before continuing.

" An all I care about is that your happy... "

She raised a brow..

" When it comes to the Malfoy's...hell, the only reason I even hold anything against that lot is because lets face it.. where that name is concerned to tend to get your mind made up for you if you spend enough time around your family.. If I really think on it, had I never met you or any of them I'd have cared two knut's less about the name Malfoy one way or the other. "

She frowned a bit.. her worry over Cissa's reputation still nagging at her in the back of her mind..

"Only Al... promise me you won't get mad or take this wrong alright? .. "

She stared him pointedly in the eye for a minute to make sure he knew she was serious on that request..

" but ... well, you just met her right? Do me a favor? Get to know her? ... I mean really get to know her, and all about her to...an.."

she paused for a moment and uncharacteristically worried her teeth on her bottom lip before continuing..

" an Al? Just keep you eyes open okay? "

She didn't know how else to potentially warn him about something which might not have any truth behind it to begin with. As was he was likely to take offense to the requests.. but she had to try in some way.. if the rumors turned out to hold truth she'd hate herself for not clewing him in from the get go.

[mgirl03]

Rory's reassurance in the fact that her father wouldn't judge Cissa because of her last was one of the many reasons why she was Al's best friends. He knew that there were probably hundreds of reasons that he could name off, but this was one that it was showing itself right now. A lot of times, when Al was thinking irrationally (like right now with doubts about his father), she was the only one who could get him to see reason. He, in turn, was usually the one who could get her to see reason--in many ways they were the only ones who could do things for the other. It just came with the package and the label of being somebody's very best friend.

After she dropped into silence, he looked up in time to see her grimace. Hearing her words, he gave a half-hearted smile; he knew that Uncle Ron would never change his mind totally about the Malfoys. But hopefully...hopefully if his dad understood, he could try and make Uncle Ron see a bit of reason. Maybe even Aunt Hermione might understand, and also help Ron to calm down from the mad rage that he would probably go into upon finding out. Just the thought of it made Al's smile fall from his face quickly.

Locking gazes with Rory, he smiled again, gently, when she said that all she wanted was for him to be happy. He had hoped and expected as much...but he had been a tad bit worried about her. But knowing that she approved, as long as he was happy, made his heart feel incredibly lighter. He could get through this, he knew he could, as long as Rory was standing there by his side, ready to take up the position of his best friend as always. His smile even stuck around as she went on to say that it was his family's fault that she had problems with the Malfoys--that was true, and yet what could you do? The family had bad experiences with Lucius and Draco...but people did change. And they didn't have to be the spit of their parents, Scorpius and Narcissa...

However, when Rory frowned a bit, Al found himself frowning as well, eyes flickering back up to her eyes to take in their color. It was at that moment that he realized that the two of them were quit close--but he didn't mind, he found it just as comfortable as always. Listening to her, his frown deepened a bit. What was he going to get mad about? But he kept silent, listening and waiting, brow furrowing more at Rory's next words. Why did he need to 'really get to know her, all about her'? He had planned on it anyways but...was there something that she knew? Was there a specific reason why he was keeping his eyes open?

And Rory worrying her bottom lip was making him worry too. She almost never did that, only when something was really nagging at her. Running his right hand through his hair, he placed his right hand on her shoulder and tilted his head a bit. If there was something about Cissa that she knew and he didn't...well she needed to tell him. What if it was something bad? Something that might make him regret jumping into this relationship with this Ravenclaw girl.

"Why? What do you know, Rory?" he asked her softly, eyes squinting as he continued to frown. Something was wrong, and he wanted to know. What was there about Cissa that he didn't know? "Tell me, please?" Eyes pleading again, he looked her straight in the eye, worried. How would he take this the wrong way, or be mad? Unless she was referring to her...not trusting Cissa or something. Was that it? Did she not think Cissa was trustworthy or something?

And what about Soren? For some reason the bloke jumped to the front of Al's mind, and he felt his stomach burn a bit. She still hadn't told him about the two of them dating, and he made a mental note to convince her that he knew that the rumors about them were true. He wasn't going to tell her how he really knew...she would kill him...not that he had intentially spied on them or anything. Mind wandering and thoughts rambling, Al mentally shook his, coming back to the problem at hand. One thing at a time...

[.RORY KAY BLAKE !]

Why? What do you know, Rory?........Tell me, please?" Looking back just as intently into Al's green eyes as he was into her own she turned over just how to respond to that plea. What right did she have to ruin his relationship with here say and gossip? After a considerable pause in which they both simply started at each other her eyes colored over from their stormy hue into the sadden color of the depth of green blue sea, she hated keeping things from Al, it upset her, because more often than not it seemed to upset him. Not bothering to drop her aqua colored gaze from his own she shook her head lightly..

" I'm not gonna do that Al because I don't really 'know' anything... I've just heard some things that... well.. "

She gnawed her lip some more, gave the foot board of his bed a firm thunk with her heal out of frustration and looked down this time. She should have never mentioned this...

" Look, the things I'm fretting over.. their might not even be any truth to them at all, it's just 'stuff' I've over heard people saying.. I wouldn't have even brought it up if I wasn't so worried about you getting hurt... I mean.."

Again with the lip worrying. Her hand absently played with a tuft of the bed cover on the foot of the bed between them, she was sounding like an overprotective git....

" I can tell you like this girl a lot and I don't want you going into things with her already assuming things because of some stupid rumors..so.. no.. I'm not going to tell you what they were... "

That was all she had for the subject, a right lame way to leave off on the topic but what could she do? She didn't have any great words of wisdom to offer, she just wanted her best friend to be happy and not get his heart broken in the long run.

[mgirl03]

It wasn't exactly a vote of confidence for the older messy-haired boy when Rory's eyes turned aqua--her sign of being upset. He felt his stomach drop, wondering what on earth Rory was going to tell him. But he was in for a surprise--she knawed at her lip, played with the bed covers, and beat around the bush, but never actually told him what she had heard. She had heard something that was making her worry that he might get hurt...but she wasn't telling him? What bloody good was that doing?!

Feeling a bit angry, Al placed his hands on his knees and gripped them until his knuckles turned white. Rory and Al blackmailed each other sometimes (for fun, of course) and kept secrets for a time if it was in the better interest of the other...but these 'things' that Rory had heard sounded important and she was keeping them from him. At the moment, all he could do was stare at her and frown still, feeling himself grow a little bit angrier every second. Were these things so bad that she didn't want to tell him incase it ruined his and Cissa's relationship?! If they were that bad then he would need to know!

Taking a deep breath, he looked down at the floor too, trying to calm the anger bubbling in his stomach. After a moment, he felt it begin to ebb away. Maybe they were just rumors...he trusted Cissa not to do anything like snog another boy while they were dating. So he decided...fine, if Rory didn't want to tell him, then maybe he didn't want to know. If she was keeping it from him then it must mean that these 'things' weren't urgent, and that he didn't need to worry about them. So for the moment, he forced himself to cast them completely out of his mind.

"Okay...fine," he said softly, looking back up at Rory, frown still in place. "But..well, there's something else I want to talk to you about, Rore. Some rumors...that I've heard about you." Running his hand through his hair, Al figured it would be best just to come out and say it.

"Rory..." he began quietly, trying to catch her eye. "Why...how long have you been dating Soren? Why didn't you tell me?" He felt a twinge a guilt that he wasn't planning on telling her how he really knew--that he had seen it happen. It had been an accident, but he knew that he should have just kipped back upstairs instead of staying to watch the show. And he knew that Rory would be angry if she knew...so he decided to allow her to think that he had heard rumors about it. Which he had.

"If the rumors are true," he added, just as quietly.

[.RORY KAY BLAKE !]

Okay...fine Relief that he wasn't going to press the issue flooded her. She'd felt a generous helping of guilt though when she'd seen his the knuckles of his hands go white against his knees. He must be pretty peeved at her.

..but..well, there's something else I want to talk to you about, Rore. Some rumors...that I've heard about you. Rumors? ..about her? She wrinkled her brow in confusion, well sure..she wasn't in the top ten favorites on quite a few lists.. you got that when you had a hot temper, sharp tongue, and decent left hook, but rumors? She wasn't aware she'd warnted any lately.. turning over her mind for anything that could possibly constitute a rumor about her that Al would feel was worthy of worrying about she kept finding she was drawing a blank...

Her conversation with Al had driven pretty much everything else from her mind, so it wasn't until Al mentioned Soren's name that her eyes popped open in realization. Why...how long have you been dating Soren? Pulling her gaze at once back to Al's and taking in his frown, an upsetting thought hit her.. did he? ..did Al really think she hadn't told him yet on purpose? The answer to that was quick in coming Why didn't you tell me? Bloody hell... now his feelings were apparently hurt. She had been planning to tell him as soon after the fact as possible, but things had been busy and .. well.. she just hadn't had the chance yet...

" Oh Al! I'm sorry! I wasn't trying to keep it from you honest! Things have just been busy and this is the first chance we've had to really chat since then. And then finding out about you and Cissa was on my mind.."

Reaching over she wraped her arms around his waist and gave him a tight hug before pulling back and grinning..

" don't be upset with me..please? I didn't keep it from you intentionally I swear! But yeah! We started dating yesterday morning and he's great! Really sweet. "

[mgirl03]

It was with a slight breath of relief that Al realized that Rory had bought that he had heard of her relationship with Soren through the rumors going about school. He didn't want to straight out lie to her, seeing as she would kill him if she found out about him practically spying on them....Well okay, he had been spying, but it was like he couldn't move away! The whole stomach thing and anger still buggered the hell out of him, but he tried not to think too much on it.

When she went on to earnestly apologize and assure him that she hadn't been trying to keep it from him, he felt his face break out into the first genuine smile since he had brought her up here. The hug around his waist made him hug her back without even thinking about it, before she pulled back and he let his arms drop, stomach twisted once more. What in the name of Merlin was wrong with him?! Trying to ignore his bi-polar stomach, he listened to her as she went on to ask him not to be upset, and then complimented Soren.

Which made his stomach twist and clench. He felt his chest constrict, a feeling of anger rising in him, before it was gone just as quick. He sat there for a moment, blinking, trying to take this all in. What was going on with his stomach and chest...he really had to sit down one night and analyze what he felt when this stuff happened, and what might cause it. But not right now--he needed to assure Rory that he wasn't mad at her, now that he knew that it wasn't intentional on her part that he hadn't been told of her new boyfriend.

"Oh that's..that's great!" he said, smiling down at her. "I'm not upset, promise. But er..." He cast his mind around, trying to think of something to say as his stomach clenched again at the thought of Rory dating Soren. Finally, he decided that he would just have to try and be normal--he would take the mickey out of her.

"Two years older though, Rory," he said, his face falling into a more serious expression. After a moment he winked at her. "Like the older boys, eh? And the Quidditch players of course." Crossing his arms, Al then assumed his more protective, brotherly attitude. "I have to say, out of all of the horrible blokes in school that you shouldn't waste your time on, Soren...he isn't bad. Although I can change my mind about him in an instant."

Winking again he added, "Maybe we should double date so I can keep an eye on the git. Punch him in the nose if he does something wrong, yeah?" He was joking of course--hopefully Rory took it that way. Although really, if he did break his best friends heart (his stomach again twisted, this time even more painfully), then he would pummel the guy into oblivion. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that. But inside, he found himself frowning...the boy was two years older...he would just have to keep an eye out to make sure that Rory didn't get hurt.