a dream is a soft place to land

that  little  gasp?  adorable.  elliott  couldn’t  help  but  smirk,  but  quickly  caught  himself  and  drew  his  bottom  lip  between  his  teeth  to  stop  a  grin  from  spreading  over  his  lips.  wait,  was  that  —  was  that  almost  a  joke?  and  a  sober  one  too.  “i’m  sure  you  would  have  been  the  first  person  invited  to  the  class.  i  mean,  your  muffins  are  probably  the  best  i  ever  had.”  he  wasn’t  just  blowing  smoke  either.  he  thought  about  her  muffins  a  lot.  dreamed  about  them  even.  “oh  yeah?”  he  asked,  pushing  off  the  counter  to  walk  towards  her.  “two  more  questions  then.  one,  are  you  going  to  be  my  professor?”  this  would  be  the  second  time  elliott  got  a  private  lesson  from  a  hot  teacher,  and  he  wasn’t  mad  about  it.  “two:  do  i  have  to  wear  one  of  those  cute  little  aprons  too?”  it  wouldn’t  be  cute  on  him,  but  it  was  cute  as  hell  on  her.

Melina smiled at the compliment, reaching up to tie her hair back with the scrunchie on her wrist. “I’m sure that’s not true, but thank you.” Actually, Melina was very confident that her muffins could be some of the best he’d ever had, still, she had a habit of brushing off compliments - even though they meant a lot to her. “Well, I don’t see anyone else around here who has the patience,” Melina bit her lip, looking down for a brief moment. This teasing was new to her, but she was trying to match him measure for measure. She only hoped she wasn’t making a complete fool of herself. “Unfortunately, I only have the one cute little apron. But maybe next time I’ll remember one for you as well. Or - you could wear this one,” she said, reaching back to untie it.

@lilyxcvans​

@sorrowsofsinclair​

elliott  had  places  to  go,  people  to  see,  yadda  yadda  yadda,  blah  blah  blah—  but  when  he  saw  a  now  very  familiar  flash  of  blonde  hair  walk  into  the  kitchens  ( were  students  even  allowed  in  the  kitchens? )  he  forgot  whatever  plans  he  had  made  and  decided  to  follow  her.  just  too satiate  his  curiosity,  not  for  any  other  selfish  reasons.  he  watched  her  for  a  moment  before  walking  further  into  the  room,  seemingly  unnoticed,  and  leaned  against  one  of  the  counters  with  his  hands  on  the  edge,  one  leg  crossing  over  the  other.  “two  questions,”  he  spoke  up,  breaking  the  silence.  “one:  is  there  a  baking  newt?  two,”  he  paused,  taking  a  moment  to  check  her  out  because,  well,  he  was  borgin.  “how  the  hell  do  i  sign  up  for  that class?” @melmacmillan​

Melina probably went to the kitchens a lot more than she should - but it was one of the few places in the castle where she felt at peace. Besides, the House Elves always seemed happy to have her and always gave her space in the big kitchens to make whatever she liked. She, of course, always gave them a good portion of whatever she was making and attempted to replenish their supplies, which they always refused. She’d promised Edmund that she’d make him scones, so that was her mission for the morning. She set her bag on one of the counters, pulling out an apron and putting it on as she greeted the elves. She set about getting out her ingredients when she heard a voice - a familiar voice - and started. She couldn’t help the little gasp that came out of her and she turned sharply - hand pressed to her chest - to face Elliott Borgin. She had no idea how she could have missed him walking in, and her face coloured slightly as she looked down at the apron. “Um - no, no baking NEWT. Or, if there is, I’m a bit hurt no one told me about it.” She smiled slightly as his eyes drifted down her body. “I can probably help you out with the class part, though.”

“She’s a pretty sassy fairy too,” Olivia added, obviously that features wasn’t quite her but she still loved Tink no matter what. “At least you’ve still be enjoying yourself. But some of these costumes are surreal, so much detail put into it for the evening. I think yours is classy and beautiful.”

@melmacmillan​

“Oh? Are you sassy-Liv tonight, then? Could be interesting. Halloween is all about pretending, right?” Melina shot her a genuine smile. Of course she didn’t go into these events searching for compliments, but she couldn’t deny she’d been secretly wishing for them as she got ready. “Thank you. That’s a lovely compliment. I feel like everyone has something else going on - I’ll never be able to identify half of them.”

“You were?” Jackson spoke with a light quirk of his eye brow, though he couldn’t help the slight smile on his hidden features. Of course they were friends, but of all the people she could spend her evening with; he just never thought she’d seek him out. Melina MacMillan was always a light, no matter where she was; she always shone in the darkest of rooms. Bringing a warmth to everything and everyone she touched. Why would she waste it on him? “Maybe I’m just tryin’ to keep ye wantin’ more.” The male spoke sarcastically. Catching a glimpse of her smile, he couldn’t help one of his own pulling wider onto his face. “Eh, don’t worry I ain’t popped ma clogs yet; ye can’t get rid of me that easily MacMillan. This ghost definitely can.” @melmacmillan​

“Sure I was - one does spend time with their friends at parties - don’t they. That’s what I’ve been told at least - figured I could give it a shot.” Melina’s smile grew brighter and she let out a light laugh. “Oh? Is that so? I didn’t know you were so conniving, Sinclair. Well - your strategy might just be working!” Melina waved the glass of juice teasingly in front of his covered face. “Well I have a very tempting offer here.”

Honestly, Elliott was surprised that Melina approached him. She seemed a little put off each time he approached her, but it was only a matter of time before he invaded her bubble at the party… especially in that costume. There were plenty of beautiful girls at Hogwarts, but Melina Macmillan was in a league of her own… and she didn’t even know it. That was hot.  “Really? You seemed pretty skilled to me last time. Maybe you need this more than I do,” he teased, taking another sip of the drink– that he now knew wasn’t even spiked yet– and offering it to her. “We can share it,” he offered with a shrug. “Unless you were just trying to get me drunk so you could take advantage of me,” he added, tossing her a wink.

“Oh - I take NO responsibility for anything that came from that night. My inhibitions were significantly lowered.” She relaxed slightly at his teasing - she was starting to accept that it was teasing and it was just how he spoke and not some secret way he was making fun of her - and accepted the drink. She probably SHOULDN’T be sharing a drink with Elliott Borgin again, but she tilted the cup to her lips regardless. “Oh, that’s was entirely the plan,” she giggled. “Though it seems like I might need to try a bit harder with the drunk part,” she said, tipping the glass toward him.

A smile tugged wide onto her features at seeing her sister though granted it did dim when she mentioned Lizzie. Things still felt unresolved truthfully just because Cassie was being stubborn and wanted her to really see a result to her actions and this seemed like the best way to do it. “No I ain’t seen her and I don’t plan on it, probably best so I don’t deck her at the party and ‘ruin another night of fun for her’” Cassie spoke with a slight sarcasm laced in her last words as she gave a huff from her cheeks. “Ye look great though Mel- pretty as always; the wings look great.” @melmacmillan​

“C’mon, love. You can’t stay mad at her forever. She’s your sister. Maybe she’d even apologize if you gave her a chance.” She sighed. “Not that you have to talk to her tonight. I want you to have fun - I just think she’d like the look.” Mel gave her sister a small smile, fingers playing with the sides of her dress. “Thanks - thought I’d go a little nicer since it’s my last year and all.”

“Thanks. I think it’s pretty accurate, I can always show you some details on the character later,” Liv’s lips formed into a wide smile, eyes glancing down at her dress as she rocked back and forth on her feet. “So far yeah, it’s been real fun here. But I’m just enjoying it by myself, didn’t come with a date or anything. Did you?”

@melmacmillan​

“I’ll have to take you up on that! Besides - a story with a fairy sounds right up my alley. Oh - no I didn’t come with anyone. But it’s been fun anyway. I love seeing all the costumes people come up with. Makes me feel real uncreative.”

“A hot tip? Someone goin’ and ruinin’ the fun of my secret identity, the outrage.” Jackson spoke, light sarcasm laced in his tone. But of course, how could ever be mad at that; especially if it meant he got to spent some time with Mel. "Come on, ye don’t even like it a wee bit?” The raven haired spoke looking down at his ‘costume’. Though at the mention of pumpkin juice, he couldn’t help his ears prick up slightly. He was always a sucker for food. Though that fact that she’d actual thought to bring him one, did make a light smile tug at the corners of his features. “Wait- yer did?” @melmacmillan​

“Well, I was asking, so don’t be too hard on them.” She let out a light laugh. “I didn’t say I didn’t like it. It’s very funny. But I don’t get to see you at all? Seems like a rip off.” She smiled again, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Of course, I did. I mean - do ghosts get thirsty?”

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Elliott turned with a grin that faded into confusion as a drink was shoved in his direction. He reached for it on instinct, eyes widening in shock. “Uh, thanks,” he replied, chuckling and shaking his head. He took a step back to look her over, appreciating every inch of her costume… and he felt something he had never felt before. Like her wings were fluttering somewhere deep in his chest. He lifted the drink to his lips and took a sip. “By that logic, I guess I owe you a dance.”

Melina could feel her face getting pink and she suddenly wished she had gotten herself a drink. She couldn’t remember WHY she had thought this was a good idea. There were plenty of guys like Elliott Borgin at Hogwarts and none of them spared her a second glance. Then again, there weren’t so many boys at Hogwarts that made her cheeks flush the was that he did. It was like she was a first year again and always on the brink of making a fool of herself. She took a deep breath, willing the colour on her cheeks to disappear. “Yeah... a dance. I can’t promise I’m very skilled in that area - but it seems only fair.”

“Yes I am,” Liv nodded, before waving her hand to brush aside Mel’s confusion. “It’s not your fault, not a lot of people have guessed my costume. It’s a fairy from a children’s book very popular in the Muggle world.”

@melmacmillan​

“Oh! Well, I love it! And I’m sure it’s accurate as well, it looks like you put a lot of detail into it! Are you having a good night? Come with anyone?”

@fckoffcassie​

@sorrowsofsinclair​

It was nice to see the couple costumes and the people dressed up the same. Liv wondered if they all planned to match or in some cases just happened to show up similar. Her eyes were drawn to her fellow Ravenclaw and she made her way over to Mel through the crowds. “Oh look, we’ve both got wings,” She laughed, turning a bit and looking over her shoulder as her Tinkerbell wings fluttered. “I’m digging the outfit though, it’s awesome.” @melmacmillan​

“Oh thank you! You look SO cute. Are you a... fairy? Sorry, I’ve recently discovered I’m the actual worst at guessing costumes.”

@borgins​