Playing with Fire PV Dealla

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By SK

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It was a little odd, somehow, to be back at Hogwarts for her second year. Last year, at some point after the excitement and novelty of being away from home, of exploring the castle and ground and learning how to use magic had worn off, she had started missing Whitehaven. The lack of salt and the scent of the sea in the air had started bothering her, and she'd missed the vastness of the sea she'd grown up next to. She'd enjoyed being home over the summer, especially since she could show Ileen where she'd grown up

But she had grown used to Hogwarts too, its cool corridors, the lake and the grounds, so when she had been home over the summer, she had started missing those instead, and she was glad to be back.

It had been a few days now since they'd arrived at the station in Hogsmeade, and Dee had spent most of it catching up with friends and getting reacquainted with the castle, so today, after she had closely missed what she was certain had been an absolutely beautiful sunrise, she'd decided to spend the afternoon outside the castle walls.

The forest had lost a little of its mysterious charm for her after the excursion she'd taken between its trees with her fellow Ravenclaws last May, so she tried to steer clear of it, but the grounds offered enough space for wandering around and exploring without coming within a hundred meters of where the forest began.

It was a nice day, all in all, and Dee had a lot of energy to spend, so her steps soon more resembled skipping than anything else. She mostly passed by the flocks of other students around, only offering a wave here and there if she spotted a familiar face, but she wasn't in dire need of socialising, and she'd already made one new acquaintance this morning. So for the moment, she just enjoyed the familiar sight of the lake and the scattered trees around, while she looked for something that might catch her interest.

It turned out that it was the perfect time to be looking for something interesting on the grounds because... was that a flash of light over there between the trees? Just a moment later there was another twinkle of light, warm and flickering and familiar, and gone just as soon, like it was moving.
Curiosity piqued, Dee's steps changed direction, heading towards the somewhat secluded spot with the intriguingly flickering lights. Had someone set a bowtruckle on fire or something? She wouldn't put it past the students at this school, really.

Eyes on the sky and head in the clouds, Dee probably wasn't paying as much attention to her surroundings as she should have considering she was knowingly heading towards fire, but she'd later tell herself she still would have noticed the burning torch being tossed directly in front of her feet if not for the likely well-meant warning thrown her way.

Her head turned from where she'd been looking upwards, where she'd been scanning for flaming bowtruckles between branches and patches of blue sky. She caught a flicker of fire from the corner of her eyes, in an unexpected direction, on the ground instead of above her head, and then her toes caught on something on the ground and, with an audible squawk, she tumbled to the ground in an ungraceful heap, only managing to catch herself on her hands to keep from getting a face full of grass. Additionally, when she turned into a sitting position to look at the death trap she'd stumbled over, the fire from the end of the torch spread and was now eating away at the edge of her jeans.

She was on fire. Again? In the last few months alone, Dee had been set on fire four times and gotten burned just as often. At least the latter she could still avoid this time, as it only took her half a second to pull out her wand and point it at the seams of her jeans legs. "Extinguo!" Burns? Not fun, should be avoided when possible. It was, however, a pair of pants ruined. No saving material that had burned away.

The torch went out along with the flames on her jeans, and Dee picked it up before she pushed herself to her feet and turned around to look for whoever was throwing burning torches at unsuspecting people around here. There was a small memory ringing in the back of her mind, a subconscious rise of expectation, more instinct than thought, as there had been one person at Hogwarts she'd talked to before about dancing with fire.

Familiar red hair, familiar features, and Dee blinked in surprise. Had she really been correct about this?

"Wait, aren't you..." Manicure boy? But, no, she thought, stopping herself mid-sentence. No matter how similar this boy looked to the one she'd met at the makeover errand during her first year, something was off. The eyes, maybe? The jaw? She couldn't tell, not from this distance at least. Dee shook her head. "No, I don't think you are. Who are you? And do you always throw torches at people? You could have just told me to go away, you know."

There was an amused spark in her eyes, a teasing lilt to her voice that showed that she didn't actually mind what had happened, nor did she think it had been on purpose. It had, however, been a very foolproof way of getting her attention.

Dee took a step forward, extending the torch towards the somewhat-familiar-but-not-really boy. "Do you want this back?"

@Ruka Burnett-Tân

@Dealla Prince

Dee laughed, light and tinkling, and tilted her head to one side as if in consideration, a playful spark in her eyes. "Well then, Prometheus, consider that I might not be a mere human, and thus have no need of your gift of fire? Not that anyone does around here, really." She grinned, bright and curious. "Any other guesses to who I might be, then?" While the story of Prometheus, especially with the mention of bringing fire, was vaguely familiar to her, she didn't really know enough about Greek mythology to make any comparisons herself, so she'd let him decide if he wanted to.

Now that he was closer, it was undeniable that he looked extremely similar to the boy she'd met at the Makeover errand months ago. She thought she could nail it down to his eyes. Hadn't had Mr Sagacious Snake's eyes had some brown to them - hazel, rather than green?

Her observations were interrupted when Prometheus mentioned knowing her, but her surprise changed into a frown when he brought up the ball. "You do?" she asked, jolted out of the playful amusement. "I'm sorry I can't say the same thing. I was only there for a few minutes."

It wasn't one of her favourite memories, and most of the short time she'd spent there was a complete blur to her. She didn't really remember any faces, only flames and hurried actions, a pair of hands covered in Burn-Healing Paste, and the only thing that was much too sharp in her memory was the time she'd spent guiding Victor back to the castle - or what had been left of him. She knew there had been other people around, but she couldn't for her life remember if this boy had been among them, focused more on the people on fire than those around them. Any recollection she might have had of Prometheus would have been overridden by the meeting with his doppelganger, although the boy he resembled so much had also claimed to know here from the ball. Just how many red-heads had she met that night?

Relief was visible on her face when he didn't choose to further delve into the events of that night, instead sticking to the fire theme, and the thought of being summoned by fire brought a bright grin back to her face. "Honestly, I think it might be more of an accomplishment to not appear near fire around here. On the other hand, from what I've seen, people near you seem to get burnt." Her pants might not have suffered as much as the people at the ball, but she still counted it among the casualties.

There was an inquisitive set to her mouth, a curious glint in her eyes as she watched him spin the extinguished torch, a motion that was obviously well-practiced, required almost no thought. She wanted to ask questions, about his doppelganger, about torches and flying flames, but she didn't want to interrupt the banter. She'd hold off on them for now, ask them later, she decided.

Dealla burst out in laughter at the invitation, by far not as good at keeping in character, her delight bubbling too close to the surface, but curtsied back at him, although it turned out a little lopsided. "Oh, I'm sorry for misunderstanding. I'm afraid I'm not familiar with that particular set of social etiquette, I don't have much experience in dancing with fire."

Had it been a serious invitation? She didn't know, but she could certainly appreciate the theatrical way it had been delivered, and she really wasn't very prone to self-consciousness, so her eyes were clear and her smile brilliant as she put her hand in his. "Oh, I'd be delighted - I completely missed my chance to dance at the Blossom Ball. I should warn you though: I don't know how to dance."

@Ruka Burnett-Tân

@Dealla Prince

The smile remained on Dee's face, playful and curious, while Prometheus made a show of looking her over and then, acting as if it shouldn't have taken him so long, recognizing her. His conclusion elicited another bout of bright laughter from her. Aphrodite, huh? The goddess of beauty and love, or something along those lines? She didn't think she knew anything of beauty, and even less of love, but she supposed it was flattering. The reasoning, however, was what made her smile turn wider, into a grin. She certainly had more reason than some, although less than many others, to have a vendetta against fire.

"Aphrodite it is," she agreed, inclining her head more in acceptance than confirmation, although it could be taken as both. Prometheus had made the choice, and she could go along with it.

A few puzzle pieces clicked into place when Prometheus introduced himself as the boy with the paste - the bright orange paste on Victor's charred skin was one of the few clear pictures she had of the night - and she supposed she was somewhat glad to be able to put a face to those hands. She nodded her head in acknowledgement, then gave him another smile, tighter than the ones before, less free. "I suppose it's smart to have Burn-healing Paste around when you dance with fire," she added, an obvious remark that didn't really require an answer. There was something more niggling at her, like there was another connection she ought to make, but she tried to shake it off, eager to change the subject.

She was glad that Prometheus didn't seem any more keen to stay on the topic than she was, it would have sucked the fun out of the situation very fast, but they hadn't gone down that more serious path so far that it wasn't easy to slip back into light banter and smiles.

For the first time, one of her comments had managed to get a laugh out of the boy as well, and the sound sparked a brilliant smile from Dealla. "I'd expect you're rather lonely then," she teased lightheartedly. "Between all the fires here, I haven't seen many people I'd consider fire-proof. I'm certainly not, as experience shows." She tilted her head to one side, tapped her nose as if in thought, while her eyes betrayed her amusement. She liked his smile, she decided. "Do I pass, anyway?"

She tried - and failed - to look apologetic at his disappointment in the state of her knowledge of fire dancing etiquette, the smile still on her lips, but stepped closer without hesitation, and managed to follow the first few steps at least without stumbling over her own feet, her hand on his shoulder. She supposed it was a little odd to be dancing here under the trees with no music, but both Prometheus acting like it was completely normal and her own general lack of self-consciousness kept her from feeling like it was. Dee was having fun - a lot more than she'd expected when stepping out of the castle earlier.

Dee took the opportunity for a more or less graceful spin under their hands - that, at least, was something she could do - then grinned at his question. "Who," she confirmed, then turned more thoughtful. The resemblance really was remarkable - that couldn't be a coincidence, could it? Were they related, maybe? "You have a doppelganger at this school, did you know? I met him at an errand a while ago, we talked a bit. He mentioned fire dancing, too, so I thought..." She trailed off as suddenly, those last links snapped into place. They had talked about his fire-dancing friend, the reason he knew second year spells - and the same boy who had put the burn salve on Victor: Prometheus. He'd event told her Prometheus's name, although not his own.

"Oh," she said, sounding a little surprised by her own realisation, more to herself than to him, before her eyes cleared up. "I should know your name, I think. He told me - although he didn't mention that you look so alike." She couldn't quite recall the name, and a corner of her mind was still busy trying to remember. Something starting with R...? "He was supposed to give you my thanks. Are you brothers?"

@Ruka Burnett-Tân

@Dealla Prince

Aphrodite was quick to go along with Ruka's whim, even seemed amused by his reasonings, and he could feel his own spirits rising even higher at the sight of the grin on her face, a matching one spreading on his own as he bowed his head as if to offer a more polite greeting now that he was aware of dealing with a Goddess. Her laughter made his chest swell with pride, caused him to feel the need to twirl around, but he restrained himself in favour of coming across a little more serious as the role he had assigned himself.

He wasn't ready to shatter the illusion quite yet.

They came close to that anyway, by delving into the happenings of the Blossomball for a moment, though neither he nor the girl in front of him were too eager to stick to that topic and they made a quick recovery, steering the conversation in a lighter direction again almost immediately after Aphrodite had clearly understood who he was and why he had recognised her from that specific night.

Ruka was grateful for her silent agreement not to stick with that topic, only nodding lightly in answer to her observation that it was smart to carry Burn Healing Paste as someone who played with fire.

When she poked fun at his loneliness next, Ruka raised his eyebrows, lips one again stretched into a wide smile, green eyes sparkling with delight. "It's really not about the quantity of people you surround yourself with," he pointed out, gesturing around himself as if to imply the vast amount of students in the castle. "It's about the quality. You can be more lonely in a group of people than in the company of one." Raising his eyebrows, Ruka shrugged lightly, features softening from a wide grin to a relaxed expression. "I don't feel lonely right now. Despite not being completely fireproof, you show promise." He offered her a playful wink. "With some practice I could make a torch wielder of you yet."

It would have been an odd transition for anyone, leading playful teasing and banter into dancing without any music to accompany them, but Aphrodite went along with it as if there was nothing more normal than this scenario they were in right now, and it made Ruka feel more relaxed than he had been in a while. Returning to Hogwarts had come with the fear of falling back into unhealthy habits and the realisation that he still wasn't able to connect with any of his peers, but Aphrodite was making it easy to be around her, made him feel comfortable even while ridiculously guiding her to twirl under his arm.

Once she had finished her spin, Ruka placed a hand a little above her waist, gently to not try and give off the impression like he was trying to grab at her and move her in any way she wasn't comfortable with. "A doppelganger?" he repeated, scrunching up his nose teasingly, as if the thought that anybody could bare any resemblance to him was outrageous in a way. It should have really been quite obvious who she was talking about, but it took Ruka just as long as it seemed to take Aphrodite to really make any connections.

"Oh you've met the Great God Pan, I see," he said brightly as he led her in a slow circle, his feet carefully nudging at hers every couple of steps to guide her the right way. "I'm surprised you think we look alike. Can't you tell us apart by the Horns he has growing on his head?" Chuckling at his own joke, Ruka decided to steer away from their play pretend for a moment to actually provide some real information. "He did give me your thanks," he said, a small smile on his face. Jack had mentioned meeting Aphrodite at an errand, had forwarded her gratitude too, though Ruka hadn't thought much of it at the time. "But he didn't give me your name, so if you manage to remember mine I'd say you know more about me than I do about you." A grin crept back onto his face, the hint of a little challenge sparking in his eyes. He wondered, if she thought about it a little harder, if she might remember the name Jack had used to talk about him. Had it been his first or his last name? Had it fallen in pleasantries or discontent? After all, Aphrodite had met his brother at a time when Ruka had been avoiding him, so the things she had possibly heard about him didn't have to have been all good.

Concentrating on picking up some speed in their dance now that Aphrodite seemed to be more secure with the steps they were taking, Ruka lightly shook his head at her. "I suppose we are," he answered her question vaguely, tilting his head to the side as if unsure how to continue from there. "But not by blood. His parents adopted me this summer. Our parents, I mean." It still felt strange to be talking about parents, his parents of all things, but maybe he just needed to get used to bringing them up. Maybe talking to other people about it would eventually make it feel more real.

"What about you?" Ruka asked, bemused smile curling his lips upward once more. "Do you have any doppelgängers at school I should be aware of, or can I safely come up to say Hi when I see you around the castle?"

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Dee had never been very selective with the people she surrounded herself with. Extroverted to a fault, she made acquaintances wherever she went, talked easily, laughed freely, and any stranger was a potential friend more than a potential enemy. If asked, she'd also say she trusted easily, ready to tell her life story to complete strangers at the slightest nudge. But then, until recently, she also hadn't had any secrets to keep. She was more selective about who she actively sought out, the ones that had managed to get her interest and keep it, too.

Most of all, however, Dee just disliked being alone. She blossomed in crowds, thrived at parties, and could probably count the occasions where her instincts had drawn her away from company instead of towards it on one hand. Prometheus, it appeared, was different.

It gave her a pause, for a moment, trying to comprehend what he meant. Of course, having Ileen around, or Aida, was worth more than any crowd, but she also drew energy from social interactions, from getting to know new people, from talking to strangers and friends alike, although it wasn't a conscious thing. "I don't think I've ever been lonely in a crowd," she said, mulling the thought over. Still... if someone asked if she wanted to spend eternity with Ileen or with ten strangers, she was obviously going to pick Ileen, so she supposed it did make sense, to some degree. The outcome might be different, however, if instead of eternity, she only had to pick for a day. "But... I think I understand what you mean." She frowned. "A little. I like getting to know people, though: How else would you determine quality? By setting them on fire?" Her eyes sparkled at the question, this odd test to determine someone's worth.

She lit up with a bright smile when he said he wasn't lonely at the moment - it felt like an award somehow, like she'd achieved something that only few did. "I'm not lonely right now, either," she replied, voice lowered and slightly leaning forward, like she was telling a secret. At his next comment, however, no matter how offhand and playful it had been, Dee's eyes widened and she straightened up until she was basically on her toes, her entire weight balanced on the balls of her feet. "You'd show me?" she asked, fascinated. No - she wanted more than that. "Teach me?" A little stupid, maybe, that's what she'd said the first time she'd heard about fire dancing. But also really cool. And, truth be told, Dee's opinion on things tended to vary depending on who was the one doing them. They might be stupid if others did them, but never herself, no.

That was likely also one of the reasons she didn't feel awkward dancing with a virtual stranger under a tree, to no music beyond the rustle of wind in the leaves above them.

"The Great God Pan?" she repeated, her eyebrows quirking up in amusement. Half of her attention was focused on what their feet were doing, but that focus was broken with Prometheus's next comment and a bubble of surprised laughter, when the idea of Mr Sagacious Snake with horns growing between his red hair distracted her enough to misstep, almost stumbling over a stray root on the ground. It didn't give her so much as a pause, though, her eyes still sparkling with delight. "I must have missed them. Maybe I was too distracted by his nail polish."

She was a little surprised to hear that manicure boy had actually forwarded her thanks, but there was a small smile on her face at the memory. It wasn't that she thought he wouldn't deliver it on purpose, but more that if it had been her, she would have forgotten it as soon as she'd left the courtyard - especially since he'd suddenly run off like he was something shiny and there was a horde of Nifflers hot on his heels. "Glad to hear that," she replied, still smiling. "He saved most of my nail polish, thanks to you." For a moment, she frowned slightly, her smile fading, a little worried wrinkle between her eyebrows. "I was wondering if I'd done something wrong, he left so suddenly." But if he had delivered her thanks, it couldn't have been too bad.

The frown deepened as she tried to recall Prometheus's name. She'd heard it repeatedly, but it hadn't seemed important at the moment. Names rarely seemed to be, as proven by the fact that she regularly tended to forget to ask for names even when meeting someone in person. But still... it was somewhere in her memories, it just took her a moment to tease it out. Dee brightened up when she finally did, and she snapped the fingers of her left hand, which still rested on Prometheus's shoulder. "Ruka! Right? Ruka... Tan?" Ruka Tân - Prometheus - Fire-Wielder - Gryffindor. She grinned back at him, pleased that she'd managed to recall the name, then remembered that this was likely the right time to introduce herself as well. "He couldn't have given you my name, I don't think he knows it. But I'm Dee - Dealla, really, but I much prefer Dee. Someone calling me Dealla might actually be a reason for me to set them on fire." Was she joking at that part? Mostly, probably, but not entirely.

The change in tempo brought her slightly off-balance again, but since she hadn't stepped on Ruka's feet so far, she'd still count that as a win. At his vague reply, she mirrored his head-tilt, eyebrows lifting in confusion. "Are you sure you're not related by blood?" she asked, voice somewhere between fascinated and dubious. "You almost look like twins. What happened to your birth parents? How did you end up being adopted by the family of someone who just happens to look just like you?" The questions might seem a bit blunt, rude even, but there was no malicious intent behind them, only honest curiosity reflected in her eyes.

Laughter bubbled close beneath the surface at his next question, and she was about to ask how many people with doppelgängers he knew, before she remembered that she'd met someone who looked curiously much like another girl she knew just this morning, and now Ruka, too... Maybe it was more common than she knew? "None that I'm aware of," was her reply, amusement still audible. "But I suppose you'd have to risk it and find out, wouldn't you?"

@Ruka Burnett-Tân

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@Dealla Prince

Ruka hummed quietly as he took a moment to muster Aphrodite a little more thoroughly. There was an ease to all her movements, a contagious joy in every step she took. He could imagine people being drawn to that kind of energy, that genuine enthusiasm and lack of care for what other people might think of her. Clearly he was no exception, could feel himself smiling each time the corners of her mouth quirked upwards, could sense that pull inside him that refused to let him pull back from their dance. It was a good thing, probably, that she couldn't relate to the feeling of being alone in a crowd because Ruka imagined she found herself in crowds quite easily.

A laugh bubbled from his chest as she questioned how he determined quality, and he shrugged lightly. "It's worked for me so far," he said, a fond smile on his face as he recalled the fact that Aphrodite wasn't the only one he had met through his affinity for fire. His smile smoothed out into a thoroughly relaxed expression as she declared not to be feeling lonely at the moment either. It shouldn't have meant all that much considering she had just stated that she couldn't relate to feeling alone in a crowd, but something about the way she leaned close to whisper the statement made it feel special somehow, and Ruka clung to it with a spark in his eyes.

That spark only brightened when Aphrodite's enthusiasm grew with the prospect of getting to see and learn his fire dance techniques. Rarely did Ruka ever feel like he wanted to teach someone something that was so personal to him, but there was something about the way Aphrodite's eyes lit up, the way she held herself on the balls of her feet as if her excitement didn't allow her to stick to the ground, that made him nod almost immediately. "It's the least I could do after setting you on fire," he decided, a small smile pulling at his lips. "I warn you, though, it's hard work." He sighed dramatically. "You better be prepared." With a little chuckle he stepped to the side to walk them in a small half circle and get a little more movement into their dance as they continued their conversation.

As she misstepped slightly, posture faltering a bit when almost tripping over a root, Ruka moved his hand on her waist a little upwards to be able to steady her in case she lost her balance, but Aphrodite seemed to be quick on her feet because the misstep barely took her off guard before she resumed their dance without a further hitch. His comments about Jack seemed to have amused her, but his own expression faltered a little bit when she talked about the nail polish they had been working with when they met. Ruka could still remember the flecks of orange scattered across Jack's nails when they had met up again after Ruka had avoided him for a couple of weeks. The memory held something bittersweet and he was glad to be moving away from it again.

"He does that," he said lightly when Aphrodite commented on Jack's sudden departure when they had met. "Maybe he started liking you too much. He notoriously runs away from positive connections." Rolling his eyes, Ruka couldn't help scolding himself from the hypocrisy. As if he himself didn't tend to run away from any kind of connection he came across.

Ruka curiously watched as Aphrodite's face shifted expressions with whatever kind of inner conflict she was dealing with, and he laughed brightly when she eventually ended up blurting out his name with something like pride in her voice. "That's me," he confirmed, a wide smile stretching across his face. With his own name revealed, Ruka found himself excited to hear Aphrodite's as well. It felt momentous somehow, like taking off their masks at a costume party to reveal who they truly were.

"Dealla," he repeated gently as if to test out the way her name felt curled around his tongue, and he smiled at the sound before giving her an acknowledging nod. "Dee it is," he agreed with a small chuckle, moving his hand away from her waist to hold it up defensively for a moment to show that he wasn't eager to be set on fire by her for using her full name.

As she was caught off balance one more time, Ruka placed his hand on her waist again with a slightly tighter grip this time to make sure she was steady on her feet before resuming their conversation. "Pretty sure," he answered with a little nod and an amused smile. "Though I suppose we can't be certain without some blood tests." His laughter calmed down quickly when Dealla continued her questions, digging into more personal aspects of his life without any shame. Ruka hummed quietly as he thought of how to best respond, but he made sure to keep up a smile to show that he wasn't offended by her blunt inquisition. In fact there was something encouraging about her genuine interest that made him feel comfortable with sharing more about himself with her, so with a deep breath he started his answer.

"I never knew my mum," he started, shaking his head slightly. "And my dad passed away last year. We used to live on the streets." With a swallow, Ruka looked up to gauge Dealla's reaction to that before he kept talking. "So I didn't really have anywhere to go. Jack offered to let me come home with him for the summer, so..." He chuckled and shrugged, a sheepish expression covering his face. "His family is great. They really made me feel at home. Suppose it helps that I look like I'm part of the family anyway." Laughing at his own joke, Ruka brightened up again, lifting his arm a little to offer Dealla another twirl if she wanted to. "What about you? What's your family like?"

The amusement in Dealla's voice and expression made Ruka smile contently and he nodded at her words, taking them in like she had posed a challenge for him. "Good thing I'm a risk taker," he decided, lips curled into a grin. There was no way he was going to miss his chance to talk to Dealla again.

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Dee's eyebrows rose, half amusement and half curiosity in her expression, eyes shining with it. "How many people have you set on fire? Is this a common occurrence for you?" His words sounded far less hypothetical than she would have expected from someone talking about testing people with fire, and she was not sure he was joking. Perhaps she should take this as a sign to stay away from Prometheus, yet, illogically, she found herself a little more intrigued instead. Maybe it was the soft smile on his face. More likely it was part of the effect Hogwarts had on her common sense. After more than a year at this school, no one could expect her to escape completely unscathed.

Which was likely also why she was so excited about the prospect of throwing around flaming torches - and not with the purpose of setting fire to people she found disagreeable. No matter the cause, her face lit up with a brilliant, exhilarated grin when he agreed to teach her some of his fire-dancing. "Deal." Even the warning of hard work didn't dim her down. While generally very confident in her innate talent at anything she wanted to achieve, Dee didn't shy from a challenge. It was more likely to trigger her mind-blowing stubbornness.

The steadying hand on her back was returned with a bright smile, entirely unabashed, but she wrinkled her nose, expression skeptical when he suggested that manicure boy had maybe just run from a positive acquaintance. "Right, I remember something like that. He doesn't like to make friends, or something?" He wasn't the only boy she'd heard statements like this from, Hanako had said similar things in summer, caring is troublesome. "Didn't make much sense to me." Her encounter with Hanako had gone a much different way, though, with her aforementioned stubbornness beating out his continued attempts to scare her away. Dee sniffed slightly. "What is it with those Slytherin boys and their panic of meeting people they might like?" It was certainly not a problem she'd ever had.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, then her amusement returned. "He still owes me a makeup lesson." Gaze sharpening, she met his eyes, mischief written in them. "If you give me his name, I could," hunt him down to see if he'd run from her again, "get him to make good on that promise?"

Introductions finally out of the way, Dee's smile turned impish, sharpening around the edges, when Ruka repeated her name, then corrected himself to her nickname. "Wise choice," she teased lightly, laughter sparking in her eyes although it didn't reach her mouth.

When Ruka talked about his family, Dee sobered up a little, although the curiosity in her face remained. He'd lived on the streets? "Sorry about your dad," she said quietly, her voice matter-of-fact. She didn't want to imagine losing hers, or her mother. "Do you miss him?" she asked, eyes clear, genuine. She wasn't sure what more to say, although getting accepted into a new family sounded like a happy end. But she brightened up in light of Ruka's smile, taking the offer at another little twirl easily, her hair flying around her. "I'm glad for you," she said, finally.

At his question about her family, Dee shrugged slightly. It was expected that he'd return the query, but Dee's childhood had been rather boring. Peaceful. "Happy family. I grew up with my parents in a Muggle town, not very interesting. They're happy together. I'm an only child and we have a cat." Her face softened when speaking of them, fond despite her flippant words. "I have stuck-up pure-blood grandparents I have never talked to." Although they had sent her a letter she'd never replied to. "Not that I'd want to, considering they tried to force my dad to leave my mum, which is why they moved to Whitehaven in the first place." Or at least that's what her parents said. Her grandparents' letter had tried turn the situation to a slightly different angle, which she was currently busy denying.

A risk taker, hm? His words got a light, bubbly giggle in response, at the words as much as his expression. "Somehow I'm not surprised to hear that, Mr Flamethrower." It had been a while since she'd met someon whose company she enjoyed this much.

@Ruka Burnett-Tân

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