Witch Hunt Finished

Earlier that day, Dee had very deliberately decided not to go down to Hogsmeade for the arrival of the foreign schools - or more accurately, for Madhup's arrival. She'd reasoned she should play it cool, hadn't wanted to seem too eager. Because while they had spent a lovely evening together in the snow during summer camp, and she could still remember the faint hope in Mad's voice when he'd asked if they could meet again, Dee was... a coward. There, she'd admitted it. She didn't want to stand there when he jumped out of the carriage only to figure out that he'd changed his mind and started dating some girl from his own school. Meeting him at dinner was perfectly fine.

But then she heard the rumours going around (Did you hear the explosions? and I swear I could feel the ground shake and Bet it was S.C.A.R. again and I heard people died) and suddenly, all she knew was icy fear. Fear that made it hard to breathe, left her face numb and her hands clenched into fists. Her heart felt like it was being pulled from her chest.

She didn't stop to pick up a jacket before she left, didn't even spend half a moment's thought on getting her broom, which would surely have taken her into town much faster. Didn't allow herself to think about what she'd do when she was there, what she'd do if he wasn't there. She simply started running. Her feet carried her down marble steps and along corridors, slipping around corners, heart beating in her chest like a hummingbird's.

Barely out of Hogwarts' gigantic castle gates she encountered a flood of people heading the opposite direction, students being escorted back to the castle, to safety, or as close to it as they could get. Dee fought her way against the current, dodged students from Hogwarts and other schools alike, and then finally ducked off the path because cutting straight across the grounds would be faster than going against the throng of people that were trying to drag her back with them.

It was easier going then, with the black columns of smoke that signalled clear as day where she had to go, impossible to miss. She kept her eyes fixed on them... until something smacked right into her face. Dee recoiled, surprised, her hand going to her wand on instinct as she scrambled a few steps back into the direction she'd come from, but it wasn't an attack after all, but a card. A heart-shaped one that she assumed had been meant to land in her hands but had miscalculated her opposite momentum. It came after her slowly, petulantly, and nudged her hand until she took it.

For a moment she just stared at it, dumbfounded, then flipped it open automatically to read the contents.

Dee Prince,
do you wanna go to the dance with me? Please say yes, I packed a suit and everything.
-Mad, from camp.

Mad, from camp, he'd written, like he wasn't sure she hadn't forgotten about him. Like any of this mattered at all, like she hadn't been on her way to find him, scared senseless that she'd find him dead. She stared at the scrawl a few moments longer, numb, then raised her head just in time to see Madhup land his broom just down the hill from her, and she let out a choked sob. Her lungs expanded, drawing in air like she hadn't breathed since she'd heard the whispers.

Mad looked a mess, with holes in his clothes, hair dripping water and soot absolutely everywhere. He looked like he'd gone through hell, and like he wasn't quite sure yet if he'd made it back out again. Dee couldn't remember ever being happier to see anyone in her life.

Fuck playing it cool, hadn't she learned by now? You didn't always get another chance. So she dropped the card, laughing even as tears spilled down her face, and crossed the last few metres at a run, not slowing down in the slightest before they collided, with zero regards given to the flowers he carried. "You're an idiot," she pointed out, with her arms around his neck and her face buried in his shoulder. He smelled like smoke and burning fabric and oddly soap, almost completely covering the scent of him that she barely remembered from camp. "Of course I'll go to the ball with you."

@Pericles Dralt

┏		┓
	Here stood Mad without the mask of bravado: weary, guarded, tenuously reaching out for comfort and connection. The boy looked like a miserable stray that was eyeing Dee for food, weighing whether he was about to be fed or chased off with a broom. He'd worried she had forgotten his name, yet tears were welling at the sight of him. They gave the blue of her eyes a crystalline quality. Mad's muscles ached from hauling bodies, though the look on her face was all the motivation he needed to summon the last vestiges of his strength, dropping both broom and flowers to catch her. An arm wove behind her back and a warm palm cradled her head. The Chaser had needed to be alone in the disaster's wake, but now it was the last thing he wanted. That someone cared enough to weep with relief over his survival almost brought him back to tears. It probably would have, had he not already spent his reserve sobbing in a bathroom stall. Instead, he huffed a snort, rebuffing tiredly "What can I say? I am a fool for you." His smoke-scorched throat lent the words a rasp. "Of course I'll go to the ball with you." Mad closed his eyes and smiled, mumbling a hoarse "Oh, good. That's good." Even in dire straits did he try to lighten the mood. Yet wrapped as he was in an I'm glad you're alive embrace, Madhup's boyish, shallow fancies of flirting and partying it up took on depth, sinking into something more meaningful. Maybe this was what trauma bonding felt like, or maybe he was catching feelings beyond the fact that Dee was clever and pretty. Maybe both? The only certainty he reached was that it wasn't just his fate she mourned. This girl's grief ran deep- he could see it in her reaction to tragedy, feel it in the way she clung to him as if otherwise, he'd float off into the sky and never come back. Hers was the anguish of one who'd lost before. He let the moment drag out, stroking her hair and drawing slow, steadying breaths before leaning back to look at her. Madhup reached to cup Dee's face and smudge the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs. "I'm okay," he insisted through a smile of sorrow and gratitude alike, a far cry from his typical grin. "I need to check on my team now. Come with me?" Only on that initial night was he willing to talk about the Pyre. Madhup recounted the event solemnly, with vague detail, but enough to convey a first-person account. Half-being children had been targeted. He omitted any mention of his Headmistress, knowing that if the topic was breached, he would undoubtedly fall apart all over again. The days to follow were spent putting the memory behind them as thoroughly as they could, no matter how much willful ignorance it took. Mad cheered on Dee at her first race, dropped her off at the hospital wing after, and seemingly parted ways for the night until pebbles started striking a Martial dorm window around ten o'clock. Being closest at the time, Pericles had helpfully stuck his head outside to investigate. "Shit! Sorry my man, wrong room. I'm looking for Dee Prince?" Taking his guy friend role rather seriously, Pear subjected the intruder to a judgmental frown, complete with an arched eyebrow and utter lack of response. He eventually shot a dubious look over his shoulder, informing his roommate: "It's for you." Mad had snuck out on his Varápidos, cheerfully explaining that even though she didn't technically win, they had all the more reason to practice. He'd wait until they were a ways away from the Tower before teasing, "Should I be jealous that you have a boy in your dorm?" He then feigned a look of sudden shock, lowering his voice as he asked, "...was that a boy?" The days leading up to the Gala were spent on the simple pleasures of flying, exploring, or the occasional hijinx. Mad was especially interested in Hogwart's multitude of secret passages and asked Dee to take him on a tour. He started suggesting they leave creepy things behind for the next person to pass through, anything from ugly Blair Witch stick figures he'd made to insisting she write "REDRUM" in the air with her fancy spark spell. On the night of the dance itself, he was content to roam through the Haunted Halls with her up until the structure partially collapsed and Aly left, at which point he suggested they do the same. Mad wasn't familiar with any fancy waltzes, though he seemed enthusiastic about sharing a slowdance or three, carrying on idle conversation between swaying and enjoying her company. "I hope your friend is okay." "Would it be funny if we spiked the punch?" "Does Hogwarts only play songs for old people, or do you ever get to dance to real music?" When a melodramatic tango struck up, he suggested they snag drinks and get fresh air, linking arms before meandering out onto the grounds. The night was crisp and the Waxing Gibbous moon bathed the highlands in its bright light.
┗		┛

The past few days had gone by in a whirlwind, every possible free minute outside of class spent with Mad. Dee had shown him all her favourite spots in the castle, all the little hidden nooks she'd found over the past five years, told him stories of Aly and Peri and duelling and her days as a prefect, riding a bear down the Hogwarts corridors to make it to her patrol duty on time. She'd gone along with all of his silly little requests and added some touches of her own, her laughter echoing down the hallway when Mad wrapped his arms around her while she was tracing sparkling letters into the air.

When they left the ball, Dee's arm loosely hooked around Madhup's with her fingers tracing idle patterns on the inside of his forearm, she was happy enough to fall quiet for a bit. There had been chatting enough earlier, and between slow dances and fond smiles and the butterflies in her stomach, Dee had found a peaceful warmth that didn't require any words. She'd never gotten to dance much at previous balls, but that just meant it was a memory she could exclusively associate with Mad now, blurring some of the horror that she'd lived through at her last ball. It only emphasised how right this night had felt.

The October night was cool but not cold, still holding on to the last traces of summer. It wouldn't last much longer, but Dee would enjoy it as long as she could. Maybe Mad had meant for them to return inside after taking a short break outside to cool down, but once the cool night air hit her flushed skin, Dee decided she was done with the ball for tonight. She tugged slightly on Madhup's arm to make him change direction, steering them towards one of her favourite spots along the lake. It was a bit of a walk, but the moon lit their way well enough, and it'd give them a stunning view of the castle over the water. "I miss my broom right about now," she said, yawning a little. "Never thought I'd say that, but it's true. Or yours. Either would work." She paused, thinking a little. "Honestly, I'd settle for flat shoes." She'd learned to manage in her heels, her duellist's grace perhaps providing some advantage, but by now her feet were tired, and her calf muscles protested the unfamiliar strain. Of course, she could have summoned different shoes - or their brooms, for that matter - but after a moment, decided against it. The night felt magical enough as it was, so she left her wand tucked into the holster in her dress.

@Madhup Hexum

┏		┓
	Momentously, Mad liked hearing stories about Dealla as much as he liked telling tales about himself. She had made a fanboy out of the player. He was effortlessly rerouted in whatever direction she wanted to go, uncaring over whether or not they were going back to the ball later, no thoughts of what led to this moment or if it would last. All that mattered was that the fun they shared suspended the horrors of their reality, despite how fresh its scars still were. While he wasn't looking her way, it was obvious Dee had Mad's full attention- her yawn made him yawn, too. So attentive was he that when she complained about her shoes, he immediately crouched and scooped her up into his arms, toppling his hat in the process but abandoning it on the path. Grandpa noir wasn't really his style despite how immaculately he pulled it off. "Maybe at the next ball, we could go for a fly instead? Your school is...." his grin turned into an overdone grimace. Mad drew a deep breath, raised his eyebrows, and puffed out the word "...something." He crinkled his nose at the lake as they arrived on a slab of rock alongside it. "We hear insane things. The giant squid is made up, right?" Still trying to roll by the playbook, Mad set Dee on her feet, shrugged off his velvet jacket, and laid it out like a cheap picnic blanket. He waited for her to sit before unbuckling her heels, albeit struggling for an embarrassing long time to undo the straps' tiny prongs. "I always avoided coming inside the castle because of the rumors, but I've had more fun with you this week than in six years at Durmstrang." He set the shoes aisde and rocked back into a sit. Although his tone was nonchalant, the Chaser smiled up at Dee adoringly, eyes brimming with puppy love. "I want to keep seeing you." Mad was asking her out with the same energy he approached most everything else with: a devil-may-care, what could go wrong mindset. He (really) didn't know what had happened between her and her ex, but believed that if he kept at it, maybe she'd take a chance at opening up again.
┗		┛

Dee was just dozy enough to be slow to react when Madhup abruptly disappeared from her side. Frowning, she turned to look at him - and then squawked when her legs were suddenly swept out from under her. She almost hit Mad on the head in her frantic attempt to cling to something, and ended up with both arms wrapped around his neck until she realised that, of course, he'd caught her before she'd even had a chance to fall. "Give me a warning next time, will you?" she laughed, loosening her death grip some. For a moment, she considered insisting he put her down - being a strong independent woman - but her feet did hurt, and Mad's warmth did wonders to stave off the chill.

His description of her school had her giggling into his ear, but honestly, she couldn't blame him. And he didn't even know a fraction of the things she and her friends had seen over the years. (She hadn't told him.) "Mm, very real," she dissented. "Very sociable, too, likes to tip over boats and try to catch broomracers while they fly by. Do you want to meet it? I'm sure we could arrange that."

It was sweet, the way he set her down gently, making sure she was secure on her feet before offering his jacket for her to sit on. Dee watched his hands while he struggled with her shoes, her arms wrapped around her legs and chin on her knees, eyes soft in the darkness. Mad's fingers on the skin of her ankles set the butterflies in her stomach fluttering again.

She looked up when he sat back. With the moon behind him, he was little more than a dark outline in the night. There was a soft ache in her chest, at the thought of how bleak his time at Durmstrang must have been. At the idea that he was happy here, now, with her. "More fun than Quidditch?" she asked, teasing, her lips quirking into a smile, then sighed, softly. "I've had a lot of fun with you, too. More than... in a long time." She reached out with one hand, cupping it around the side of his face. Ran her thumb over his silly little goatee (still better than the scraggly mustache), then the corner of his mouth, and grinned at him, happy and hopeful and anticipatory, all at once. "I'd love to keep seeing you, too."

Biting her lip, Dee shifted slightly into a kneeling position. Leaned forward with a smile, feeling lighter than she'd felt in months, and kissed him.

@Madhup Hexum

┏		┓
	Despite Dee's panicked flailing and Madhup's shit-eating smirk, the backdrop to his proposal couldn't be more romantic. Waltzy music faded as they distanced themselves from the Gala, dressed like models but giggling like schoolmates, teasing each other as they sought a spot by the moonlit lake. "I like to startle you. You make a goose noise." He snickered at the squid's description, rolling his eyes in disbelief, deciding Dee was trying to get one over on him. No way a school would keep a creature like that around. Madhup was content. His fixation for "the blue-eyed Hogwarts girl" might have come off as questionable to mutuals, such as a certain Martial dormmate, but the Chaser had no intentions ulterior to having a good time. Dee made that easy to do. She never seemed to hold any expectations over him, unlike his guardian, teammates, or tutors. She demanded nothing from him, and it made him want to give her everything. "More fun than Quidditch?" "Wellll...." Playfully avoidant, Mad rolled his head back, staring at the stars to avoid answering. It leveled when he felt her hand brush his derma-rolled-to-get-it-this-long-thanks goatee. The gentle touch made his heart hammer in his chest. Mad was a tactile type, yet with Dee, he took things slow. Even after hauling her off her feet, he covertly studied her face for signs of protest. He was trying not to fall into his habit of barreling messily through courtship the way he went through most everything else in life. Now he cupped her hand against his face, eyes filling with stars at the casually dropped l-word. Madhup was spellbound. Just before their lips met, he mumbled a relieved word in Russian- "Finally," as though the past two months hadn't been an absolute whirlwind between them. His arms wove easily around Dee, folding her into a warm embrace, twining her wavy hair between his fingers. Mad was more than happy to remain on their rock until an especially loud splash in the lake sent him scrambling up it. He was among the last to leave when Durmstrang boarded their ride home, stealing kisses between breathless assurances that he would write until a professor practically dragged him away by the scruff.
┗		┛

Exiting thread