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Post by Dominic Hughes on Nov 11, 2008 21:01:10 GMT -5
It was just after dinner, nearly seven at night, when Dominic left the Great Hall and carried his backpack up to one of the observation towers. He liked to come up here to watch the stars while he studied, as long as he didn't need to use any of the texts in the library, it was too far of a walk to go back and forth. Tonight he simply needed to work on his Transfiguration homework, and all he required was his wand and a shoebox containing a white mouse. He set to work, trying to transfigure the mouse into a canary. Inanimate objects into animals, he had mastered by his second year. Animals into inanimate objects by his fourth. Now he was working on animals into other types of animals. The more different the species were, the harder Dominic found it.
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Post by Aubrielle Newbury on Nov 11, 2008 21:09:29 GMT -5
Aubri was trying to catch up on some of her Astronomy homework before Lyra found out. Heaven forbid she procrastinate, especially in a subject she already did pretty well in. The thought made her roll her eyes. It was like being the baby in the family meant you have to do everything better. As childish as it sounded, it wasn't fair and she didn't like it.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before she came into one of the towers. She didn't notice Dominic right away, but frowned when she did.
"I'm sorry," she said. "Do you mind if I come in here? I'll be quiet."
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Post by Dominic Hughes on Nov 11, 2008 21:20:50 GMT -5
Dominic turned as he heard the door to the tower open, his mouse now some sort of a bird, but not one he'd ever seen before. Aubri didn't seem to notice him for a while but when she did she frowned, and Dominic saw it. He had always thought the girl pretty, and special in her own right. The only thing she had in common with that sister of hers was her good looks. But clearly she didn't think the same of him. However, when she didn't automatically leave, he smiled. "Whatever," he muttered nonchalantly.
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Post by Aubrielle Newbury on Nov 11, 2008 21:38:21 GMT -5
Apathy... such a turn on.
"Thanks," she replied, and moved across the room, though her eyes lingered on him for a moment, for no discernable reason.
She set her bag down next to a telescope and pulled out a parchment with a half finished star chart on it. It wasn't pretty, and the lines were a little wobbly, but it was a first draft of sorts. Once she had all the information down, she could sit and re-draw it, making it look neat and well thought out.
She glanced towards Dominic again, wanting to ask what he was doing, but she had promised to be quiet.
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Post by Dominic Hughes on Nov 11, 2008 22:07:39 GMT -5
He nodded when she thanked him, though she hadn't needed to. It wasn't as if he controlled who came and went in public areas of the castle. He looked back to indiscernible bird and tried to transfigure it back into a mouse, to start over again. He had succeeded, but it was now a brown mouse instead of a white one. He shrugged and figured it was good enough. He popped the mouse back into the shoebox so that it did not get away, and then looked slyly out of the corner of his eye at Aubri. Would she be one of those girls who were afraid of mice? Or would she like them? Perhaps she was indifferent to them.
Dominic looked back to the mouse and tried again to turn it into a canary. This time it looked something more like a dove, but not quite. He glanced at Aubri again and then reached for his bag, from which he withdrew a scratch of parchment and an inkless quill. He scribbled a note on it and chucked it at Aubri.
You aren't afraid of mice are you?
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Post by Aubrielle Newbury on Nov 11, 2008 22:50:34 GMT -5
Aubri felt the note hit her, and it startled her just a little. She creased her brow and looked towards Dominic, then picked up the note and uncrumpled it.
What? She thought, reading the note again. What did mice have to do with anything? She was confused, and not sure what to make of it. She looked up at Dominic again.
"What?"
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Post by Dominic Hughes on Nov 11, 2008 23:08:36 GMT -5
Dominic watched her as she read the note, and then grinned at the confused expression on her face. When she spoke he shook his head disappointedly and sighed loud enough for her to hear. "You said you were going to be quiet. That didn't last long, did it?"
He summoned the note from her hands and shoved it into his pants pocket. He thought the note had been direct enough, but perhaps not. So he reiterated. "Are you afraid of mice? I've got one here and I wouldn't want it to bother you."
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Post by Aubrielle Newbury on Nov 11, 2008 23:14:06 GMT -5
Aubri stared at him a moment, but shut her mouth quickly. She had promised to be quiet, but he was the one catching her attention.
"No, it won't bother me," She said, her eyes narrowing in on the box he held. She wasn't exactly a big fan of mice, and if it ran at her, she'd probably scream, but the idea of one didn't scared her. "Why do you have a mouse?"
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Post by Dominic Hughes on Nov 11, 2008 23:29:37 GMT -5
"Well, currently I have a dove...sort of." He picked up the scrawny bird and showed it to her, making an odd face like the thing grossed him out. Then he set it back into the box and again turned it back into a mouse, this time it was gray. He groaned a little. "Transfiguration homework," he explained.
Dominic looked over to her things that were scattered in front of her. From this distance he couldn't make out what the sketching was of, but since she was near a telescope, he figured it out. "Star chart?" he asked, nodding his head in the direction of her parchment.
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Post by Aubrielle Newbury on Nov 11, 2008 23:41:38 GMT -5
She looked at the bird, then back at Dominic and smiled. "He's... cute." She did all right in Transfiguration, but she was sure if she were to try what he was, she might get a turtle, trying for a bird.
"Yes, I'm working on a star chart. A bad one," she might as well admit it now in case he came over and looked at it. "It's just a quick one, anyway." Merlin forbid he thought she was sloppy in her work. No, she wouldn't have that.
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Post by Dominic Hughes on Nov 11, 2008 23:52:44 GMT -5
He summoned her chart from her as well and gave it a once over. She was right, it wasn't that good. But he would never tell that to a lady. It might hurt her feelings. "It's not that bad," he said with as much sincerity as he could fake. "You've mislabeled this star, though." He held up her chart and pointed to a tiny dot in the bottom left corner. One of them would have to cross the room if she was going to see what he was pointing to. Unless she had the sight of an eagle. With those lovely eyes, she could of.
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Post by Aubrielle Newbury on Nov 12, 2008 0:01:09 GMT -5
"I told you it was a rough one," Aubri said, immidiately defensive of it. She *knew* it wasn't that good. She also knew he was lying.
That was how she worked. She always took down the facts and the important things first, then went back through and made it better, prettier, presentable.
"That's why I'm up here," she added, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm checking all my work before I do the final chart. Can I have it back?" She was not going to cross that room so that he could point out her mistakes to her.
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Post by Dominic Hughes on Nov 12, 2008 0:10:22 GMT -5
"Calm down, love. I'm only kidding with you." He didn't mean to get her rilled up, he just wanted her to come over nearer to him. But he did have to admit, that little fire she got in her eye when he said she had made a mistake, that was pretty hot.
"You can," he said, and held the parchment out to her, not getting up to actually give it to her. He would get her over there one was or another. He gave her a charming grin, to help the enticement.
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Post by Aubrielle Newbury on Nov 12, 2008 0:41:16 GMT -5
Aubri glared for a moment. She couldn't very well use a charm to get the parchment back; that would be rude.
So instead, she finally gave in and started towards him. When she was within three feet, she regarded him for a moment before holding out her hand for her star chart. Her eyebrows went up, and she was almost tapping her foot.
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Post by Dominic Hughes on Nov 12, 2008 0:49:38 GMT -5
He chuckled, then stood to match her level. He looked her up and down and then grinned. "If I knew you looked so cute when you got angry, I would have been bothering you years ago." He surrendered her homework to her with a wink. "I'm sure you're thinking the same thing about me," he said, obviously kidding.
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Post by Aubrielle Newbury on Nov 12, 2008 0:53:51 GMT -5
"You have a lot of nerve."
She said it before she could even think about curbing her tongue. She did not apologize about it however... it was true. The boy had too much nerve, and it irked her. Although, the girly part of her secretely loved the compliment.
She had to look up to look him in the eye, and she hated the advantage he knew he had over her. She took her star chart back and opened her mouth, but then closed it and turned to head back to her corner of the tower.
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Post by Dominic Hughes on Nov 12, 2008 0:58:33 GMT -5
He chuckled again, happy to watch her walk away. "Yes, so cute," he added under his breath. But she was right, he was being rude. Apparently she did not enjoy compliments as her sister did. He would try to remember that in the future. Or find a way of complimenting her that she didn't take offense to it.
Dominic bent down and placed the lid on his shoebox (it had air holes in the top), so that his mouse would not get out. Then he followed her to her side of the tower. "I apologize for my rudeness. I promise, it will not happen again." He stuck his hand out, to shake on a truce.
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Post by Aubrielle Newbury on Nov 12, 2008 4:01:17 GMT -5
Aubri was not expecting him to follow her, and she didn't know what to make of it when he did. How was she supposed to react to that?
It wasn't that she didn't like compliments. She was just used to standing idly by while Lyra received all the praise. She recognized his compliment, just not the execution, and that was that.
Except that now, he was sticking his hand out, expecting her to shake it. She stared at it for a moment, then at him, and then finally shook his hand. "It's all right."
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Post by Dominic Hughes on Nov 12, 2008 23:56:07 GMT -5
"It doesn't bite," he said just before she shook his hand. She had looked at it for so long he almost though she didn't know what to do with it. There was much to learn about Aubrielle Newbury. And he was now certain he would learn it all.
"There, now that we are on good terms again, might I join you? I doubt my mouse is ever going to a canary, I've given up on him." He smiled warmly at her, hoping she would accept his request.
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Post by Aubrielle Newbury on Nov 13, 2008 18:23:49 GMT -5
Aubri frowned at him again. He wanted to stay? Who did this guy think he was? Merlin.
But since she couldn't come up with a good reason to kick him out or send him away, she nodded, and her manners kicked in. "Sure. I don't mind."
He just wasn't allowed to mention her star chart at all. Heaven help him if he pointed out another mistake.
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