pretty rad

spinnet, alicia; gryffindor, class of 1996. obliviator.

[swipeupforpansyparkinson-blog]

Pansy flushed with pleasure again at Alicia’s compliments, quite liking that she could make such a positive impression on her. “I’m not thinking of anyone else,” she said with a little quirk of her lips. “Perhaps you’re interested in a girl with a bit of experience?”

With Alicia’s movement, Pansy directed her fingers to lightly brush back the hair framing her date’s face, doing little to actually move her hair, but the intent had been for the girl’s attention anyway. Those fingers light on Alicia’s cheek swept forward over the line of her jaw, where Pansy left them tauntingly close to Alicia’s lips. That tug at her mouth turned into a smirk. “I could teach you a few things.”

[hvcns]

If there was one thing Alicia liked, it was being surprised. In the good way, that is. She liked not really know what would happen next, that her life could be a small scale adventure. And Pansy... she was surprising her. From the moment she’d walked in and started talking to Alicia. The picture she’d had of Pansy, and the reputation she’d had at Hogwarts, was starting to change. “Good,” Alicia said slowly. “That’s... good.”

A gentle smile spread across her face when she felt Pansy’s fingers touching her cheek. The touch left goosebumps across her skin and her heart seemed to speed up in her chest. Good seemed like an understatement at this point. Alicia was hooked. “Like what?” she asked, lowering her voice slightly.

[hermione-swiped-deactivated2016]

“I was just running some errands, but I can spare a quick second.  How’ve you been Alicia?”

[hvcns]

“Oh, fantastic. I’ve been great. How about you? You look like you have your hands full.”

[swipeupforpansyparkinson-blog]

“I’ve had practice,” Pansy said, a glint of pleasure sparkling in her eyes. “Though if it makes you feel any better, I have no talent on a broom. I’m sure you could make me look a fool in the air.” If gravity was to keep its relentless grip on her, then it was for the best that she stay close to the ground. She hated heights.

Having had a positive reaction from Alicia, Pansy maintained that feather-light touch, tracing little patterns into her date’s skin. “Does it bother you? That I’ve had my share of flirtations?”

[hvcns]

Alicia tilted her head sideways and tried to imagine Pansy on a broom. It was an amusing one, from what she had described. “Well, then we’ll call it an even,” she said with a wink. “As long as you don’t get any better at flying, I’ll accept your superior talents when it comes to flirting.” The gentle touch from Pansy distracted her for a moment, and only proved what she had been saying before. 

“Oh no, not at all,” Alicia replied earnestly. “Why should it. You’re here with me now aren’t you? And you’re not thinking about anyone else, hopefully.” She leaned forward, not enough to lose the feeling of Pansy’s fingers across her skin, and said with a small smile. “It also helps that I know that everyone in here is jealous of me and my gorgeous, intriguing date.”

[sxsiebxnes-blog]

“Great, I hate drinking alone. At least we can both be  miserable together.” she says with a laugh. Oh boy would she like to know that Susan was actually just surveying her completely, head to toe. She found her really attractive and her personality was only increasing that feeling. “Well you won’t have to worry about that with me, though I must say you are a very beautiful woman, Alicia.  Hope you don’t mind me saying that.” she says. Wow that took some serious balls for her to say. She hoped Alicia wouldn’t be repulsed.

When one of the busboys stopped to give Alicia her drink, she ordered herself a pint of apple cider, cold because she wanted something sweet but strong to put her mind off of what she’d seen that day. “Nice to meet you too.” she says crossing her leg over the other and sitting back in her chair. “It’s a tough job, I have to admit, when you’ve got angry parents or spouses who are waiting and sometimes get a little aggressive. But you’ve got to be tough with them and when it dawns on them that they’re being an ass they usually calm down and apologize. I enjoy helping people, but today just really took my energy.”

[hvcns]

Susie was cute, she had to admit. It wasn’t that often that girls came up and flirted with her, but Alicia really liked that this one did. “I don’t mind, no,” Alicia replied with a brilliant smile on her face. “I’m very appreciative and accepting toward compliments. In case you wanted to know.” She took a small sip from her drink and looked closely at the witch in front of her. “You’re very beautiful as well,” she told her. “But I’m sure you know this.”

Alicia listened attentively when Susan told her about her job and nodded along to bits of information. “I get what you’re saying. Not that I really have to deal with anything like that. I’m an Obliviator so all I get are muggles running around confused or scared over something they saw. I don’t have to deal with angry relatives trying to tell me how to do my job.”

[sxsiebxnes-blog]

Susan smiled, because the was Alicia was talking, she felt the exact same way, wanting nothing but to have a strong drink to help her forget the shit she’d gone through that day. “I feel you there. They’re so unpleasant. However once you shut them down, they’re so far gone on fire whiskey that they just shut up so they don’t sound like bumbling fools.” she says sighing. “Is this seat taken? I was trying to find a free table before I.. well bumped into you- relatively speaking.” she says pointing to the seat beside her. 

“Yeah, I graduated in 1999, after the war I went back after I took some time off to get over it all.” she says shrugging. “My names’ Susan,but my friends call my Susie. You could do either. Call me what you want.” she was blushing now, her cheeks burning bright. Sure she found Alicia very attractive but she was never normally this way with girls that she didn’t know much about. “It was pretty rough. I’m a healer in training at St. Mungo’s and there were a lot of emergency cases today.” she says softly. “It was just a hard day. I figured a drink would help me wash away the images burned into my mind.” 

[hvcns]

It was quite amusing to see someone so small and seemingly adorable have such fire inside of her. Alicia looked at her with easily found adoration, even though they’d just met. When Susan pointed at the chair opposite her she nodded eagerly. “Please, I’m dying for some company that isn’t either staring at my tits or vaguely looking into nothing.” She was being way too blunt, but after her day she didn’t really have the strength to filter all her thoughts. 

Alicia was thrilled to see that Susan was blushing. Not that her embarrassing was something to be thrilled about, but it had been a while since Alicia’s company had been the reason. Calm down and stop being so smug, she thought to herself. “Alright,” Alicia replied with a wide smile. “Susie. Nice to meet you. Officially, that is.” Alicia’s drink was placed in front of her with impeccable timing and she took a quick sip. “Sorry to hear that,” Alicia continued with a grimace. “I could never do it. But I get what you mean about hard days. I spent all day apparating around London, trying to keep muggles from freaking out.”

[hermione-swiped-deactivated2016]

“Oh, I actually have somewhere to be, but…I suppose I can talk for a moment.”

[hvcns]

“Oh, great,” Alicia exclaimed and sunk down into a chair. “Wait, unless you’re really busy? Did I interrupt something important?”

[swipeupforpansyparkinson-blog]

“No worries, sweet. I didn’t take it as such.” Pansy had plenty of experience with insinuations and insults, and this didn’t strike her as one of them. Though she could appreciate that Alicia was making an effort to be nice to her. Her expectations for this date hadn’t been high, but at least she could say that this was easily exceeding them.

Pansy did have to pause, though, at Alicia’s teasing about obliviating her dates. She didn’t know the girl at all well enough to have any instinct for when she was joking around, and she had to pause and examine her expression to assure herself that it really was a joke. The idea of being obliviated didn’t sit well with her. Finding her stride again she said, “I hope that isn’t too common an occurrence. You certainly haven’t messed up so far.” Her arm still slung over the back of the booth seating, Pansy glossed her fingertips over Alicia’s shoulder in just a shadow of a touch.

[hvcns]

Alicia was relieved that Pansy seemed to get her joke, even though there had been a slight pause after she’d said it. “I have a habit of falling on my face,” Alicia confessed. “I’m much better up in the air than on the ground. But I have never brought work home with me, so to speak, and I doubt I ever will.” That would be the last thing she ever did, if she was being honest. 

Pansy’s fingers trailed over her shoulder, leaving shivers that traveled down Alicia’s spine and a small, softer smile spread across Alicia’s face. “You know,” she said slowly after taking a small sip of her wine. “You’re very good at this. Much better than me.” Point made by the way she brought it up, probably. She had never done subtle very well.

[sxsiebxnes-blog]

Susan was in the shittiest mood she’d been in for a while. It’d been a rough day at work, having had several emergencies in her unit because of the amount of “accidental” hexes that were cast on a number of wizards and witches. The worst one had been a 12 year old who had obviously been jumped by a number of older kids. It’d sucked all energy out of her and her boss had sent her home early  to rest. But she couldn’t rest and found herself at the Leaky Cauldron hoping to drown out the images she’d seen with something to drink. She was passing a row of tables when a girl stretched her hand out speaking to her, she assumed. 

She raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest. “Yeah, sorry to break your heart hun, but I unfortunately don’t work here. You might have more luck up at the bar, that is if you like being cat-called by the idiot wizards and what nots that populate this place.” she huffs, shoving her hands into her pant pockets. “Your Alicia right? We went to school together, I was in Hufflepuff.” 

[hvcns]

If it had been any other day, Alicia might’ve blushed at the mistake she’d made, but now she was tired enough that it didn’t bother her. Besides, the witch seemed to take it well enough. “My heart is definitely broken,” Alicia agreed. “And was going to be fixed by a lot of vodka.” She scrunched up her nose at the rest and shook her head. “I think I’ll pass on the cat-calling, thanks. My day’s been long enough without those idiots.” She squinted slightly when the girl knew her name, and took a few seconds to try and place the name.

“Hufflepuff...” she replied slowly and went through the faces in her head. “Bones, right? You’re a few years younger than me.” She felt slightly bad because she didn’t remember the girl exactly, only knew that she had heard the name travel the corridors when she was at Hogwarts. “Hope your day’s been better than mine.”

[hvcns]

@sxsiebxnes​

Alicia was exhausted. She hadn’t had a quiet moment all day. At 7am she had been woken up by her alarm going off, telling her there was an emergency in West London to take care of. Once she got there she’d been met with five muggles sitting, pale as ghosts, muttering about men disappearing into thin air. After thirty minutes Alicia had successfully wiped their minds of the incident and calmed them down enough that they were allowed to leave.

The rest of her day had followed in similar fashion and Alicia, who usually only had a few incidents a week, hadn’t had time to sit down for more than five minutes here and there. Now she was sprawled out in a chair at the Leaky Cauldron waiting for the drink she had ordered. A shadow passed her table and she stretched out her hand. “Thank god. Keep them coming and I’ll love you forever.” When she lifted her head she realised that it wasn’t a waitress standing in front of her. “Oh, shit. Sorry.”

[swipeupforpansyparkinson-blog]

“Bored?” Pansy broke out into sudden laughter. “Oh hun, I said I didn’t work, I didn’t say I did nothing all day. I do whatever I want whenever I want. My days are filled from the moment I wake until the moment I sleep with whatever takes my fancy, and that’s far more exciting than a dull old work schedule.”

Feeling as if she had covered herself - because she was definitely, not in the slightest, embarrassed about her lack of a job - Pansy relaxed further into her chair, sipping at her wine. “So as an Obliviator I suppose you always have a backup plan for a date gone wrong - just make the poor sod you’re seeing forget it ever happened.”

[hvcns]

It was exciting to see Pansy laugh, even though it was more at Alicia than with her, because it was the first time this evening that Pansy had looked truly happy. Sure, she’d seen a few smirks here and there, but not a real laugh. “Well, forgive me then,” she said with a wide smile. “If I offended you. That was not my intent.” 

“And yes,” she continued after another sip of wine. “In case I mess up terribly you won’t remember a single thing. It’s the only reason I feel safe during these mirror dates.” She said it with a teasing glint in her eye so Pansy would understand that it was a joke. Sometimes her jokes failed miserably and she’d end up apologising for the rest of the night.

[swipeupforpansyparkinson-blog]

The shift of Alicia’s body closer to hers was every bit the focus of Pansy’s attention. It was hardly the suave and flirtatious move she would have made, but Pansy wasn’t complaining either. It told her that, despite her lack of subtlety, Alicia was responding to her well enough to want to get closer.

Pansy, in turn, moved with a practiced kind of ease to angle her torso towards her date by slinging one arm over the back of the cushioned booth seating, the other arm resting delicately upon the table in wait of her drink. “Straight to business, then?” she teased. “Very well then, Alicia. I can tell you right now that I haven’t worked a day in my life. I have more than I could ever spend as it is.”

Her attention was momentarily diverted as the waitress returned with a wine bottle and two stylized glasses, filling both and leaving the bottle at the table. Pansy took her glass and swirled its contents around before taking a sip and returning her attention to her date. “Since you asked me first, it is only fair that I ask what you do for a living.”

[hvcns]

Alicia was somewhat surprised to hear that Pansy wasn’t working, though her reasoning made it obvious why she wouldn’t. She couldn’t imagine herself ever not working, especially since her schedule was relaxed enough that she had a lot of spare time. Just as she opened her mouth their wine arrived and Alicia gave their waitress a polite smile.

“Don’t you get bored?” Alicia asked curiously after taking a sip of the wine. “I mean, with nothing planned out all day? If I’m not doing something every day I might go mad.” She leaned back against the cushioned booth and smiled slightly when she felt Pansy’s hand brush against her hair. She hadn’t even noticed it was there. Pansy was smoother than Alicia had first expected.

A grin spread across her face when Pansy turned the tables on her. “I’m an Obliviatior.” It was said with a shrug. “I take care of all the poor sods seeing more than they should.” It wasn’t the most remarkable job, some would say, but Alicia liked the flexible hours and the fact that she didn’t have to be stuck in an office all day.

[harry-swiped-deactivated2017062]

“Yeah, who knew…” Harry said, a mildly envious that for most, those pre-adult years were the ‘easy’ ones. “My work hours are pretty crazy. We do night-time raids without much warning, for security reasons.”

[hvcns]

“Oh, yeah my hours are also pretty weird, because I get called out whenever some poor Muggle manages to see something they shouldn’t. You can’t really put that on a fixed schedule.”

[swipeupforpansyparkinson-blog]

Pansy took the menu, a little look of pleasure in her eyes at the wine comment. She may have deviated from her posh little upbringing, but she still liked to show off the skills she had taken from it. “Quidditch, that would be it,” she remarked. Her eyes scanned the menu, an idea of what she was after already in mind. “Though as a Slytherin I would have been hoping to see a bludger knock you from your broom. Perhaps now I should be glad that our beaters didn’t mess up your face because I’m quite enjoying the view.” Pansy flashed her lashes at Alicia playfully, but didn’t let the girl reply before she’d flagged down a waitress and ordered a Merlot. It was a soft wine; something told her that Alicia wouldn’t like the bitter tastes of a stronger mixture. Of course, being Pansy, she found that delicate balance between cheap and intimidatingly expensive with a mid-range brand just right for a first date at Crimson. The waitress disappeared to seek out the bottle.

[hvcns]

The compliment made Alicia smile, but didn’t get a chance to accept it before Pansy had turned her attention toward the waitress walking past. Alicia waited patiently, a small smile playing on her lips when she watched the ease Pansy had while ordering. She had been right, Pansy could probably pick out the correct wine in her sleep.

Instead of preening too much over it she focused on the comment about Quidditch. “I’m sure you did more than once,” Alicia said, without scorn. “Can’t say one ever got to me though. I wasn’t the best chaser, but no one was better at staying on their broom than me. Managed to score every so often against your house team though.” It was said playfully, with the insight one had after leaving Hogwarts that the houses had been a construction that had been more harmful than good.

The noise level was a bit too loud for Alicia’s taste and without thinking twice she scooted a bit closer to Pansy. She wasn’t sure if she was being smooth enough, but that wasn’t something that had worried Alicia before and she wouldn’t worry about it now. “So, let’s get the common stuff out of the way first. What do you do for a living?”

[harry-swiped-deactivated2017062]

“It doesn’t, and I just know working around four different work schedules is going to be a pain,” Harry grimaced. “But if you want to have a go at that, go ahead.”

[hvcns]

“Yeah, I suppose we can’t all call in sick,” Alicia said with a shrug. “Who knew adulthood would be this much work.”

[wnq-writers]

She doesn’t even have to try hard, she smiles and people fall in love.

wzedd61 (via wnq-writers)

[harry-swiped-deactivated2017062]

“You’ll need the player-handicap if you ladies are going to have any shot at winning,” Harry teased, though he quickly dropped the false bravado. “I get the feeling work would get in the way of anything we try to organize.”

[hvcns]

“So much trash talk you’ll have back up,” Alicia smiled, not at all threatened. When Harry mentioned work she only shrugged. “We’ll have to plan it out then,” she replied. “Unfortunately work won’t understand the need for impromptu quidditch games.”

[harry-swiped-deactivated2017062]

“You wish.” Harry relaxed and smiled at the teasing. “I’ll join you three some time if you’d like, when I’m not busy with work. We can play boys verses girls so you don’t get your ass kicked too quickly.”

[hvcns]

“Hey, age and beauty before fame and glory and all that,” Alicia laughed. “And I’m sure the others would love that. And you sure you wanna start at that bad of a disadvantage?”