raise a glass

“It hurts so much… “ @dexhughcs

“Hey, hey....” Dex’s chest ached at the sight before him; who could  h u r t  someone like Dominique Weasley? The cords tying his hands had loosened, and he managed to slip one out, reaching out to brush the hair out of Dom’s face while no one was looking, “Dom.... Dom, I’m going to get you out of here, okay? I SWEAR I’ll get you somewhere safe.”

“I wish there was another way.” ( @dexhughcs )

“Yeah, well----there’s not. We don’t right know if the Order’s ever gonna get here, if they even realize what’s happening, and that means we’re got to fight out way out of this ourselves, and that’s not going to happen by playing nice, Alf.”

“I’m terribly sorry, but you’ve served your purpose and are no longer of use. Do you know what happens to useless things?” @dexhughcs

Dex couldn’t HELP it, attitude kicking in and words flowing from his lips before his common sense could catch up, “Nah, but I s’pect you’d know a lot about what it’s like to be useless----what’s Voldemort do when he’s not got need of his little pets? Keep you on a LEASH somewhere?”

“First of all, don’t ever tell me which Weasley you were hoping for.” Louis shook his head, “Second of all… what…?”

“You think I’m mad? Fastest way to kill your chance with a girl is to go gossiping with her family ‘bout it.” He gave him a confused look accompanied by a lazy shrug, “You’re the one with the wandering hands, mate, don’t ask me.”

“Don’t sue me for touchin’ ya.” ( @dexhughcs )

“Not gonna hold it against ya, Lou, but I’ve gotta admit, you’re not the Weasley I’d hoped this would happen with.”

Dominique was pulled swiftly into Declan’s arms, her fingers still curled around the hem of her dress. “W-what?” She relaxed against him, enjoying the way he held her and how he spoke to her like she was the single most important person to him in that moment. “What do you mean? I was late because I couldn’t find what dress I wanted to wear and – I was talking to the paintings? But why? Is there food or something?” By the end of her ramble, Dom let her arms circle his torso pulling him closer with a hug. She didn’t quite care why he was being so affectionate out of the blue but she didn’t want him to stop. Perhaps being super fashionably late was a good thing.

She didn’t know. Dex was parts relieved that’d she’d been so obviously removed from the events of the night, and anxious that he’d have to be the one to tell her---especially when she seemed to be in such a good mood. “Er, no, Dom....” He pulled away only enough to allow him to look down at her, his hands coming up almost of their own accord to cup her face, his thumb tracing lightly over her jaw, “There was... shit. An accident----or something, and two---Adonis Lestrange and Mathieu Nott were found, they’re uh, dead.” There was no tactful way to say it, so he hurriedly continued, “Everyone else is in the Great Hall and accounted for---your sisters and cousins and everything, but we couldn’t find you so I----” So he’d snuck out against his own better judgement (and definitely against the rules). “I just wanted to make sure you were.....safe, yeah?”

“Okay if you tell me how I look, I will totally bribe the house elves into dusting your frames. So– thoughts?” She looked hopefully at the paintings, “I mean I know it’s a bit short but…” At the sound of footsteps, Dom turned her head trying to sort out who it was in the dark. “Who’s there?”

“Dom!” The relief in Dex’s voice was palpable, but still tinged with anxiety----a stark change from his usual mellow nature. The moment he realized it was her, he was at her side; a hand grazing her elbow as his other hand came to rest on the small of her back. “I’ve----we’ve----we’ve all been looking for you. We.... we need to go the Great Hall, yeah?”

Louis laughed as he pulled himself to his feet, getting up and looking at the other man. “I’d probably rather not be stepped on by first years, that’s actually a really good point.”

“Not a very noble or grand way to go, yeah? Imagine coming back as a ghost, having the new students told each year that you were done in by a group of first years---can’t let it happen. What tripped you up, anyway?”

“It just seems like you need all the friends that you can get.” @dexhughcs

“You trying to move in on best mate territory, Potter? Rhys’ll fight you, y’know.”

“I fell over, alright? Could you not just do the polite thing and pretend you didn’t see it?”

“C’mon mate, up you get----might be a nice statement to stay down and pretend you’re on the ground on purpose but the first years are coming this way----headed to lunch, and they’re hungry. They’re merciless, won’t stop for any man----you’ll be trampled, yeah?”

“Exactly. You could have came over to see me laid out on the beach but nope you totes missed your chance. –It was fun by the way, still wish you would have came.” Dominique watched his grin as he fixed her sleeves, noticing how he had gotten more handsome over the summer…even with his scruffy beard and flannel. The idea of him being cute wasn’t as annoying as last year. Whether she had just simply gotten used to him being around or just decided to stop fighting her feelings, Dom wasn’t sure. “Lead the way. The only other thing that I want is if Annie or Rhys asks you to go on a double date with them or set you up with me this year…always say yes.” Though she tried to flirt with other people and though she tried to date other people somehow she always came full circle back to him.

“Ahhh---” There was really no argument he could make; the mental images being conjured making it plain that yes, Dex, you idiot, you’d missed out. His tone was therefore appropriately apologetic as he finished fixing her sleeves, hands lingering by her wrists, “S’that mean my invitation’s been rescinded, then? C’mon Dom, you’re not really going to shut me out like that, are you? Maybe I’ll come visit next break, we’ll go sailing.” As she brought up Annette’s tendency to insist on double dates, he laughed. Even before she’d become surprisingly receptive to his flirtations, Dom had always been the only girl he could tolerate going on a faux double-date with. So much so that he supposed he wouldn’t really mind if it weren’t faux after all. But still, he couldn’t resist the chance to tease her, moving closer and letting his fingers ghost along her arm until his hands reached her waist, “And what do I get if I agree to these double dates, Weasley?”

She couldn’t hold back a giggle, his shy reaction to her compliment being unexpected. “If I was trying to distract you, there are much better ways than telling you that you look hot. And I really thought your excuse for not visiting me over the summer was video games but you were really working out. Right?” A playful smile curved onto her lips to match his glare as she tucked the shirt into the waistband of her skirt. “So, since you’re in a cute mood I’m going to take complete advantage and ask you to walk me to the lake and perhaps….maybe– share your firewhiskey stash with me?”

He didn’t really have an excuse for not tagging along with Annette and Rhys this summer, except that he hadn’t wanted to be a third wheel----but apparently, he wouldn’t have been with Dom there. Apparently the invite had been her idea. "Disappointed you didn’t get to see me laid out on the beach, Weasley?” Having regained his footing, he looked down at her with a grin, reaching out to roll the sleeves of his shirt up for her, “I don’t know where you get that idea, but a pretty girl asks me to share my liquor with her, I’m not going to say no. You mind making a stop at my dorm so I can grab a bottle for us? You want anything else?”

 She sighed, giving up the blouse entirely once he held out his shirt for her. “Why are you being cute? And you know that I’m not giving this back– its gone forever. Are you sure you want to give it to me?” Though she had asked, Dominique didn’t wait for his answer as she had promptly slipped into it. With a pout, she toyed with the buttons as she contemplated her answer. “Of course! I’m okay– You know, you look like you worked out this summer. Your arms look totes amazing in that shirt…”

Dex laughed, “C’mon, I’m not gonna let you walk around in a ruined shirt, Dom, I’m not a complete ass,” He eyed her, watching as she fiddled with the buttons of his shirt, a soft smile on his face for a moment before he shook his head, ”I’ll take the loss, I think.” He was momentarily flustered at her comment, his hand reaching to the back of his head as he fumbled over his words, “Ah---well---wait a minute,” His eyes narrowed, lips quirking in amusement; he was a bit more perceptive than anyone gave him credit for, “Are you just trying to distract me? That’s right devious of you, Dom----can’t tease a man like that, he might take you seriously. Here I was all flattered and now I realize you were just playing with my heart.” He leaned against the wall, giving her a playful glare, eyebrows arched. “I have half a mind to take that shirt back, now.”

Not only was she now sticky, a dark red stain bloomed down the front of her shirt from an overly excited eleven year old with butter fingers. Dominqiue couldn’t bring herself to be angry, especially with homesickness into a more melancholic mood. “Does it look as bad as I think it does?” She asked, hopelessly ( and half-heartedly ) scrubbing at her shirt with a towel that was turning red itself.

Dex shifted awkwardly----he hadn’t seen what had happened at dinner but he could only guess---and cleared his throat, “Nah, not bad at all----red’s your colour.” He joked, moving closer to observe her progress (not much), “Er, here,” He said, shrugging out of his flannel and holding it out, “In case you want to cover up on your way back to the common room. You all right, Dominique?” He would’ve expected her to be a bit.... angrier, or at least as lively as she normally was. She seemed, instead, almost sad.