Montague Travers

   Dani stared at Montague for a moment before she let out a soft sigh, “Darn, and here I thought we were making some progress.”

Montague felt the smallest bit of guilt at her words, looking up. “I suppose I have been having an unpleasant morning,” he explained, reaching up to adjust his glasses. It wasn’t an apology, more like an excuse, but it was the closest thing she was going to get.

“See, you have to carry it well. Don’t let them laugh at you. Laugh at them,” she said with a chuckle. “Good thing I didn’t choose Aquaman though, huh?” She took a sip of her drink after he did, smiling as he gave his nod of approval. “Does this mean you’d be willing to come to parties with me more often now? Because I’m not gonna lie, that’d be great.”

“Are you saying I carry this children’s costume well?” he asked, clarifying. He smirked and shrugged. “I suppose that’s some sort of compliment, though I don’t know how to interpret it.” His expression then went stern. “The aquaman costume this room would have provided would have been somehow even more atrocious, and you know that.” At her question, his smirk returned. “Well...” he started, looking up as if considering it. “I suppose, if you’d like me to, I can come to one of these every so often. Just no more ridiculous outfits, agreed?”

She laughed. “Okay, if I ever hear you say you’re bored when we’re hanging out, I will bring this up,” she teased. She waited as he went to investigate what was going on, only to be pleasantly surprised when he came back with drinks. “Yes! Thank you,” she said, reaching for one of the glasses. “Maybe it’s not too bad that there are idiots in a horse costume. I don’t think Superman can walk by unnoticed without someone else in a flashier costume causing a scene and taking up all the attention.”

“As much as I loathe this costume,” he sighed with a smirk. “I am willing to admit that it was not the most noticeable costume you could have chosen for me.” He held up the glass to clink to hers before adding “Though a few fifth years did laugh at me as I walked back. I must have given them detention before, since they seemed to realize how out of character this is for me.” He took a sip before giving a tiny nod of approval. “Alright, Rory Smith, well done. Something you’ve done has won my approval.”

Jude huffed at his attempt and shook his head in disbelief, although it was endlessly difficult to deny the lack of strength in the fifth year. “I reckon you’re right,” he sighed. “Still. Imagine if we were intelligent and strong? We could make our own Hogwarts.”

“We could make our own Hogwarts without physical strength,” Montague argued with a chuckle. “Do you honestly think Salazar Slytherin could win this silly game? No, he was a man of the mind.” He then looked up and shrugged. “Godric Gryffindor probably could, though, and doesn’t that say something.”

She let out an amused huff. He had a point. He also seemed to have amazing willpower, or maybe she was just getting impatient from having to stand in line—who knows? “That’s fine by me, as long as you’re having fun,” she said. She could have said that they could always come back later, but who was she kidding? Even she didn’t believe that. “What’s holding up the queue though? I’ve never had to wait this long to get drinks at a Rory Smith party.”

“As cheesy as it is, I am always having fun when we’re together,” he said before he realized she was right. This line wasn’t really moving. “You’re right. Let me investigate, wait here.” He walked up to the front to try and see the hold up, and he rolled his eyes. There were two idiots in a two part horse costume that was causing some problems for everyone to maneuver around. While a lot of people were distracted, he managed to grab two of the aforementioned sangrias and walk back to Ludovica without anyone noticing. He handed one to her with a smile before explaining “There are two idiots holding up the line in a horse costume. It’s a good thing I can be sneaky when I want to be.”

She waited, giving him time to find whatever excuse he was trying to find for his wandering gaze, but when he shook his head and told her what he was thinking, she chuckled. “You think I put on all of this—” she said, gesturing to her costume with one hand. “—just so you could go and look elsewhere? Please. Be as rude as you want to be.” She grinned. “Or if you’re sick of just looking, I could think of a few things we could do to remedy that.”

A breathy chuckle escaped his before he was flustered again. He supposed he could only go so long without one of her comments completely derailing his train of thought; he still had a lot to learn, he supposed. Still, it was nice to know she wouldn’t be offended if he was staring at her all night; he had a feeling he might. He cleared his throat, buying him enough time to think of something to say. “As inviting as that sounds...” And it definitely did. “Weren’t you the one who insisted we go to one of these Rory Smith functions together? Wouldn’t it be slightly counterproductive to leave this soon?”

     “It’ll be a national holiday.” She joked with a roll of her eyes. Dani was only rude to people when they were rude to her. It was a natural defense mechanism because she was always so used to being on edge. Kindness wasn’t something that Dani ever expected from people but she wasn’t about to mock him. She didn’t feel like that would make her feel any better in the least. She herself hated being mocked and made fun of. She nodded, “I’m more of a Poison Ivy kind of girl but I liked Catwoman. You got good taste in characters, Montague.”

Montague’s eyes widened a bit. “Did I just receive a compliment from Dani Burke? Merlin, perhaps this day should go down in history.” Montague couldn’t recall exactly when he and Dani had started their less than cordial relationship, but he knew this was definitely the most pleasant conversation they had ever had. “Well, thank you. I suppose you do as well, if we agree about at least two characters.”

“Well, aren’t you confident,” she said as she looked on ahead. She moved quite comfortably in her catwoman suit—she was definitely going to tease him through the night—and when she did notice his chuckle getting caught in his throat, she smirked. She turned back around just in time to see him looking away and she chuckled, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger. “Is there something interesting off in the distance?”

“I usually am,” he admitted, though she could probably guess what areas he was less than confident in. At her question, he bit his lip, knowing he’d been caught. He searched the crowd and other sights for something even remotely interesting, but found nothing. He shook his head. “Not particularly,” he admitted, turning back to her. He figured admitting the truth, no matter how embarrassing it was, was infinitely better than lying. “I just thought it would be rude to stare at you for too long without a break in between.”

           “I’m just saying, sometimes there are more to characters,” Henriette shook her head and made sure he was that she rolled her eyes at him. “Dressing up as him, probably is a good lesson for you.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “Just to enjoy myself? And no, he’s not dressed as a Prince tonight.”

He smirked at the eye roll, very familiar with it by now, given how long the two had been friends. “I would be very surprised if I learned something by wearing a Halloween costume.” He nodded. “That’s fair. I apologize for assuming anything, I suppose my mind is still a bit too oriented towards romantic endeavors.” He hoped he wasn’t annoying Henriette with his currently one track mind. He was certain he’d be back to normal soon.

“Well, not an actual list. I haven’t had the time to get to that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you could guess items off that list.” There were a good number of things they both had in common when it came to what they found funny. Once in line, she took a moment to check how many more people were ahead of them, turning away from Monty, though she didn’t need to look at him to know that his eyes would be on her. It was just a hunch, but she made sure that even with her back turned to him, her costume would still work in her favor. She knew her angles, and she put that knowledge to good use.

“I could probably take a test on what you find funny and get one hundred percent,” he smirked, before giving himself some leeway. “Definitely, if it was multiple choice. I do better when prompted.” He chuckled at his dumb scenario, but it got caught in his throat when she moved in a way that... No. Montague cleared his throat, forcing himself to look away to regain some composure. He would not turn into one of those moronic neanderthals who couldn’t function when a beautiful woman was around. In his mind, it didn’t matter that she was his girlfriend; she was a person first, and incredibly attractive second.

She smiled at him. “Well, I’m glad to hear that,” she said, though she did notice the change in his voice, and for a moment, she worried that he might have only been saying it because it would have been what she wanted to hear. However, with their fingers entwined, she decided to leave it. She’d take him at his word. “Oh, that’s so thoughtful of you,” she teased. “Remind me to give you a full list of things that make me laugh.”

Her eyes widened slightly as he wrapped his arm around her waist and whispered in her ear. Did her heart just skip a beat? She certainly didn’t expect this reaction, but she wasn’t opposed to it. She chuckled. “You do?” She was used to dropping suggestive statements, but he never quite responded this way. She wondered what else this night would bring. “You hate it that much, huh?” she asked with a laugh, hand taking hold of his as she led them towards the drinks.

He noticed the surprise in her eyes, and he felt a wave of satisfaction as he seemed to accomplish even a semblance of his goal. However, when she spoke again, a bit of his usual shyness in terms of these kinds of things returned. He looked up, as if searching the air above him for how he was feeling. He then nodded, his voice only slightly less confident as he said “Yes, I do.” He gladly intertwined his fingers in hers before saying “I suppose if it makes you laugh, it’s not the worst thing in the world.”

    “You’re right. It is a miracle. Probably a first and last time I’ll ever say you’re right as well.” Dani chuckled as she messed with her braid. “Did you choose something equally horrid or did you choose something cute for her?”

It was true, she wouldn’t deny it. The fake muscles on the suit were a little overly exaggerated, and she stifled a laugh at his words. She leaned in to whisper in his ear. “Well, if you really find it so unbearable, we can always take it all off later, if you know what I mean.” She pulled back, a grin on her face. “But first, let’s see what fun things we can do around here. I’m not gonna lie, I’ve had some of the drinks while you were off changing. If you’re not opposed to it, they’ve got some pretty good sangrias.”

He would have burst into laughter if he hadn’t had the smallest bit of remorse. At least there weren’t any obnoxious lower years around to giggle at them. “Thank you for your cooperation,” Jude bowed playfully, “Super-Man. But let the real lads get a chance, eh?” He stepped up to the game and inhaled steeply before grabbing the hammer and slamming it onto the metal, only beating Monty’s results by half an inch.

“Ah, yes, ‘real lads,’” Montague mocked, a slight chuckle escaping his lips. “Because ‘real lads’ are measured by physical strength, and not by intellect or their reputation.” He walked up, placing a hand on Jude’s shoulder. “Let’s face it, we are not meant to win this game. But I’m fairly certain all of the ones who can together make up half of our IQ.”

            “I don’t think they will, considering they’re all in ridiculous costumes,” Henriette’s brows furrowed in his direction. Honestly, she wished he would lighten up on himself sometimes. “An alien in foreign land, constantly striving to do the right thing… yeah, no depth there.”

Montague shook his head. “I truly don’t want to go into my superman rant right now since that’s what got me into this situation in the first place, but I’d be more than happy to continue the debate tomorrow,” he explained before asking “So what are your plans for the night? Is there a Prince Mason looking for you around here?”

Jude’s laughter faded as he put on a serious expression to further convince Monty, “I mean it. What, you’re willing to take risks for your girlfriend but not for a stupid, harmless machine? … Perhaps you really are that whipped.”

Montague rolled his eyes, shaking his head. He then turned to his friend, sighing a quick “Fine, one try,” before walking towards the strength testing game. He picked up the hammer, immediately regretting letting the peer pressure get to him. He tried to use some momentum on the hammer to hit the piece of metal to ring the bell, but it only got right under the halfway mark before going back to the ground. He turned around, shooting daggers and a pointed smile at Jude. “Happy?”