An Unlikely Match

[Perseas Stratis]

Perseas watched the last Gryffindors leaving the common room and be left alone in front of the crackling fireplace. He was dressed in a velvet, wine suit and black trousers while his hair weren't for once not spiked but slicked back wavy. He wasn't really nervous, he rarely was, but he couldn't help casting worried glances at his watch as the minutes were passing quickly. He had definitely told her not to be late but she didn't seem to have listen to him. The thought that Victoria had sneaked out of the common room without noticing her, had crossed his mind but it seemed unlikely. He had been guarding the room's exit like a hellhound. She couldn't have possibly escaped his attention. Perseas was pretty convinced she was up in the girls' dormitories, taking her time to exasperate him on purpose. A payback for the time he had left her stuck in that pit. He knew he shouldn't have trusted her in the first place. Now he was going to be late and possibly, he would have to appear at the Great Hall alone if she was going to hide for more than five extra minutes. Perseas stoop and left the couch to walk around the room for once more. "I'm going to kill her." he murmured and shoved his hands in his trousers' pockets. "No. I'll throw her back into the mud pit and then kill her." he mattered to himself frustrated as he reached the closest window to open it and let a chilly, winter breeze get in and cool down his hot temper.

 

[Victoria Chase]

Up in the girls' dormitories of Gryffindor, Victoria sat on her bed and swung her legs back and forth waiting for her other roommates to leave. She smiled at them one by one and complimented those who were wearing their dresses for the Ball. She certainly adored formal balls and dressing up in general, so she sure as hell made sure she was dressed to the nines. Fashion was a passion of hers and at fourteen years old, she was quite used to selecting and matching outfits by herself. When the last girl from her dorm went out, Victoria stood up from her bed and peeked outside. Surely, there were not much people around and most of them were on their way out. She grinned and slipped into her heels and made her way to the full length mirror her dorm had. She spritzed on some vanilla perfume on her neck and wrists, making sure that the scent was subtle. Victoria waited for about five more minutes and took her time to look at how she did her make up that was very simple. Her dress was in order and she took one last glance at her hair that she made into a low, messy bun but without any strands falling. Every hair was in place and Vee felt satisfied with her appearance, even if she knew she could have improved herself even more in several places.

When the five minutes was up, she got some lipstick and applied it to her lips and within ten seconds, she was done. Vee was excited to go to the Ball, although when it came to the matter of her date, she scowled to herself. When he told her he'll be her date to the 'prom,' she wondered what in hell was a prom. Vee had to even ask her roommate what its meaning was and when she understood it was a muggle term, she kept quiet and never spoke of the word again. Victoria modeled for the mirror one last time and left the dorm, with only her wand in the pocket that was enchanted to be camouflaged.

Vee smirked her best one yet and descended the stairs that led to the common room. She looked around and in a second spotted her date. Victoria cleared her throat loudly to catch his attention. When she did, she smiled sickly sweet at him. "I'm sorry, am I late?" She asked him, mocking him in the same old fashion she normally did. She could have pretended her roommates hogged the bathroom but knowing Victoria, she was the first to use it anyway to make time for her appearance. She could be one vain little thing. "Your bow tie is crooked." Vee stated and went down still, waiting for him to either get mad at her or do something unexpected.
​

outfit

 

[Perseas Stratis]

The sparkling liquid silver undulations of the moon on the dark, velvet waters of the lake was the only thing he could see out of the window. It was an entrancing sight and slightly soothed his vexation. However, Perseas was still considering to shoot her out of the opened window in case she was going to show up. For a moment he considered the idea of going up to girls' dormitories and see if she really was there but then he remembered the enchantment placed on the stairs leading there, proving it impossible for a guy to reach their rooms. Perseas thought it was somewhat unfair for girls being able to visit boys' dormitories when they couldn't. Girls like Victoria Chase could be proved dangerous with such privileges. With all the scheming that Perseas was believing she was capable of, she could plant something incriminating in his stuff and accuse him for theft. A possible revenge for the hard time he had gave her the other day. For some reason he was expecting her payback and tonight it could be a very nice opportunity. He just hoped she wasn't bitter anymore. In any case, the camera with the photo she wouldn't like to see published, was well hidden even if she was planning to search for it while he was asleep or away from the dormitory.

Upon hearing her voice, he turned around to cast a glare at her. The mocking smile she was wearing tempted him to really substantiate his previous thought of pushing her off the window. He spent a few moments visualizing it in his head but eventually, he just closed the window to block the freezing breeze. "Depends on what you're referring to. If you ask about being late for cleaning up the Great Hall along with the house elves, then maybe we might be on time if we leave now." he replied with sarcasm as well. He knew what she was trying to do and he wasn't going to give it to her. Perseas wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of seeing him erupt in anger. If the game she wanted to play was that of plucking nerves, Perseas was going to tag along. He fixed slightly his bow tie although he suspected that it possible was alright and she was just messing around with him. If he didn't dislike her so much, he might have made her a compliment about the way she was looking tonight. Instead, his grey eyes scanned her from top to bottom and they lingered somewhere at her shoes. "Now I see why it took you so long." there was a smirk on his lips already. "You were hunting down the zebra you're wearing now for shoes." he nodded as if this really was the reason why she was late. "I hope you can trot like the animal you're wearing because we are late. Let's go." he said and grabbed her from the wrist before taking her through the portrait hole and outside the common room. "So, what's the plan? How are we going to make her jealous?" he referred to Rhiannon who probably was already at the Great Hall with her date. Perseas was leading the way while still holding Victoria tightly from her wrist, almost literally dragging her along.

 

[Victoria Chase]

Victoria raised an eyebrow, clearly curious about his first sentence. She stated her "apology" of being rather late and for a side gift, she even offered him her mocking smile. Vee descended one more step and listened to him and when she got what he meant she pursed her lips in annoyance, thinking how she could pull some physical harm on him even with her small hands and weak figure. Vee did exercise, but naturally her body was thin so normally the only things she avoided was eating. That added to her body weight in which she did not want to happen. Speaking of house elves, Victoria felt insulted that he would regard her in such a way like that. Knowing she was from a well bred family, Victoria would never see herself as one of the cleaners. Only the demon himself can bring her down to such a level!

When he surveyed her, she felt a little uncomfortable. She knew her clothes were lovely - a given, she was Victoria Chase after all. Although having someone to look at her like that especially someone she disliked felt really strange. It was like he was some auror inspecting her for something. She shifted, but her head was still held high waiting if he wanted to complain about how she looked or tell her how great her hair was. Apparently, neither of that happened and she was rewarded by a mocking statement about how she hunted for zebras to get her shoes done. Victoria rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to reply, but before she can even respond, she was pulled down the staircase and was dragged to the exit of the common room.

When they got out, Victoria used her other hand that wasn't being tugged on to touch her hair to see if it was in place. Good thing it was, or else she would have freaked out without even starting the Yule Ball with her 'date.' Vee looked at Perseas when he asked her what the plan actually was and she only shrugged, thinking that as the guy who likes Rhiannon he might actually have more specific plans. Not to worry though, Victoria always had these back ups. "Okay whilst you're actually dragging me, let me give you a few basic pointers." She kept up with his pace quite well, even with her heels. Good thing she had practice even when she was 11 years old. "First, be polite to her but at the same time, give her hints that will make her regret not accepting you instead... Second, make sure you look better than her date. That includes making sure that your bow tie isn't crooked and that hair of yours will stay the same all the time. No one wants disorder." Vee rolled her eyes and still walked briskly with him as he held her wrist. "Oh and lastly," she started, feeling more reluctant to say this than willing. "Have fun with me, Stratis. Tonight we're the best of friends that absolutely love each other's company. That means we have to laugh and dance and you have to show her how fun you can be even without the pranks." Victoria sighed, really hoping that she can pull off this night without having to scowl at Perseas. He can be quite an ass when he wanted to. "Think you can give her that kind of show?"
​

 

[Perseas Stratis]

Perseas slowed down a bit when he realized that he was pulling her along forcefully. He had been abusing her way too much for someone who was actually going to help him. "Sorry." he murmured and let go of her arm now that she was following him. He listened carefully to her tips as they started descending the Grand Staircase. She seemed to be really good at this kind of stuff, whilst Perseas was utterly clueless. He wasn't sure how he was going to utilize her first piece of advice but for the second one, there wasn't much he could do apart from fixing his bow tie. He did so when she referred to it for the second time. "I have no idea who is her date." he told her and stopped for a moment in front of an armor standing at the end of the corridor to check his reflection. When he made sure his hair were fine, he exchanged a handshake with the knight's armor and it revealed a secret passageway right behind it.

A draft of stale air whistled past them. "Come. We are going to use this shortcut." he explained and gave her his hand to help her step into the newly discovered opening. This passageway was one of the hundreds he had discovered and used to his advantage these past three years he was a student at Hogwarts. He flourished his wand and murmured an incantation. A bright light radiated from his wand's tip and washed all over the lonely, stone walls. "And lastly?" he asked as he had interrupted her with this little detour. A chuckle slipped from his lips while listening to her. "This will be hard for me as it will be for you." he said, aware of their mutual dislikeness. Perseas was secretly appreciating what she was doing for him but he wasn't going to admit that in front of her. "Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy." he replied as they were following the passageway. "I don't get it though. Why are you really helping me?" he wondered, knowing that Victoria Chase was going to do nothing that wouldn't include her own personal gain.

 

[Victoria Chase]

Vee only huffed when he let go of her. She rubbed the tender skin of her small wrist for a second or two and completely forgot the fact that he dragged her all the way out of the common room. She started talking and that was where she felt rather like a wise old person once again. The last time they talked to each other this long was during that prank he did on her wherein she screamed at him like some banshee. However now she had her wits all bundled together and the grace of being ladylike had found her again. Victoria only smirked when he mentioned not knowing the identity of the Hufflepuff's date and looked towards the long hallway they needed to go through to reach the Great Hall. She almost felt sympathetic for him, because Perseas seemed serious about Rhiannon and Vee thought his own feelings were just fooling him. Regardless the brunette did not comment about it and decided that keeping her mouth shut was more proper. Instead she eyed him from head to toe and said something completely irrelevant to the topic of the Hufflepuff's date. "Didn't know you were one hell of a vain guy." Vee snickered, teasing him like she would tease the Head Boy.

When he shook his hand with the knight's, Victoria looked at him funny. If he was going to pull some foolish prank on her tonight, she would scream at him right there and then. Apparently not, since a passage behind it magically opened and she only gawked at it, before gathering her senses. Truly, he was a Gryffindor that dared to explore everything. Vee took his hand as she set her foot in the passage, letting go of it when she felt that her heels were steady on the stone floor. They moved forward, following the pathway as Vee explained to him her last pointer. When he chuckled, she wanted to glare at him for finding it so funny but didn't - instead, moving forward to not catch the faint taste of claustrophobia. She laughed softly when he uttered that childish expression, the sound of her laughter bouncing back to her ears with ease because of the close walls. He sounded like an eight year old there who thought expressions like those were in.

Victoria caught his question that hung on the air for a good 3 seconds. She actually thought he had a point being implied in that inquiry. True, she had nothing to gain with this quest of theirs however Vee knew that creating some love triangle would be the best show Hogwarts will watch and most certainly mock from afar. It was a drama web with the shy and innocent girl in the middle of the mess. Victoria was sure ready with her popcorn. "Oh you know, life's boring right now. Plus the devil must exercise some kindness, right?" She tossed a smile of sorts at him, conveying sarcasm and some kind of secretive aura. How ironic, since exercising "kindness" for Perseas was bringing a wave of love chaos in the future. She wanted to change the subject immediately, feeling like they've walked long enough and she wanted to actually see people right now clad in their gorgeous dresses and suits. "Tell me I can see the end of this passage because it's really hot in here." She told him, almost complaining but keeping her tone in check. "I sure as hell must not sweat now," Vee added in a mumble, but it was more like a statement to herself.
​

 

[Perseas Stratis]

Perseas didn't buy for a moment what she said about the devil having to exercise kindness from time to time. He thought that she might want to humiliate him in public but then he remembered the photo he had of her. It would be foolish of her part to do something like this when he could strike back. "I don't know if you really are the devil you claim you are or it is just your personal shield you just put between you and the others." it was Perseas' turn to be the wise man. He wasn't sure if he supported what he had just said about her but he was certainly trying to butter her up. He wasn't forgetting how unpredictable she could be proved at some point this night. "You might make more friends if you show the sweet girl you have buried down this layer of bitterness and self-importance." he continued as they past through a junction of different corridors but he kept guiding her straight on the passageway they were following since the beginning. "Tell me you suffer from claustrophobia? Sweet!" he said excited, considering to use this sometime against her. Well, maybe if she was going to ruin his night.
"We are almost there. See that wall?" he pointed at the dead-end they had reached. Perseas pushed lightly the stone wall and it moved away, revealing a corridor, part of the ground floor. Perseas once more helped her climb down the opening which was sealed again with a big mirror. Just around the corner were the stairs leading just in front of the large chamber of the Great Hall. Music and the noise of the crowd was already audible. "At this point I should inform you that I'm a terrible dancer." he chuckled to himself as they turned right and walked down the stairs. It was so crowded from people waiting for their dates or meeting with their friends in front of the wide opened doors of the Great Hall, that someone should push his way through the throng. "Hold me tight or we'll get separated." he invited her to hold him arm in arm before squeezing through the crowd.

 

[Victoria Chase]

The closeness of the walls was too compact in Victoria's opinion. She scowled, feeling the temperature of her body increase because of its suffocating space. She was not entirely claustrophobic but indeed, she avoided small spaces as much as possible. Victoria knew she could bear being alone in this small space but with company nearby, she felt uneasy. Although she did her best not to express it though, other than the scowl that was planted firmly on her lips whenever she had no expression to show besides from rolling her eyes at Perseas and snickering at him, the normal case of their mocking that sometimes led to threatening one another. Vee ignored Perseas as he stated the idea of having this personal shield that Victoria found crazy. No, she did not have some personal shield because she was some sensitive flower without it. As a Gryffindor she had an idea she wasn't a weakling, so setting up personal guards around her towards other people was something she thought she herself did not do. She raised an eyebrow though when he described her as a sweet girl hidden under foul adjectives Victoria knew was correct anyway. "I don't know if I should be insulted or what," stated the pureblood flatly, without expecting a response coming from him.

Victoria groaned, seeing him feel the pleasure of knowing something that was one of her weaknesses. "I'm not claustrophobic, so don't even bother," snapped Vee and her mind swiftly thought of possible scenarios he would put up that involved closed spaces with unusually high temperatures. If he tried to get her in that dilemma she knew that she could strangle him with her bare hands. She nodded gratefully when he pointed at the wall that seemed near enough to walk without having to feel a budding headache coming through. The brunette held her dress as she continued towards the exit and took Perseas' hand to help herself out. Victoria breathed in, happy to feel the open space and she soothed her dress down, making sure that when she descended those steps she would still look as if she wasn't dragged down the steps of her own common room to the outside world. Victoria followed him to the Great Hall, now wearing her usual expression that displayed no evidence of the past ten minutes.

Victoria chuckled too, thinking that when they danced he could just follow her steps or something similar. She knew a thing or two about dancing - either fast or slow paced. Vee liked fast paced because it wasn't so awkward and all they had to do was go crazy however she also adored the slow type for it displayed some kind of grace and elegance that people did not normally do on their normal days. When they plunged into the crowd, she held onto his arm as they squeezed and avoided the searching people who were looking for their dates or group of self selected friends. By the time they were in the Great Hall, she gave it a swift scan and nodded approvingly thinking the decorations were beautiful and classy. "Glad we escaped that," she breathed, her voice referring to the crowd but her green orbs never leaving the ceiling. When she finally looked at him again, she wore her friendliest and phoniest smile and looked at the couples/pairs, hoping to spot their target. "So Perseas, saw your girlfriend yet? She must be here somewhere..." Vee said, thinking that calling him by his first name would be a good start for them to start being the 'best of friends.' Victoria still hadn't let go of his arm, thinking that if she had to be friendly with him then she needed to try being comfortable with him. "I wonder what her dress is..."
​

 

[Perseas Stratis]

The Great Hall was different tonight. Snow flakes were falling softly from the enchanted ceiling and Perseas wished he knew how he could do that in order to charm in this way his bedroom's ceiling back at home. The decorations were mostly made in white and silver colors. Christmas trees were placed at every corner, their branches loaded with snow. The buffets were loaded with finger foods and drinks, crystal glasses aligned flawlessly in rows. Perseas didn't know the band currently playing on the slightly elevated stage but he liked the song. Most people were already on the dance floor but he couldn't see Rhiannon anywhere. "Nope, no sign of her." he said to Victoria as his eyes were scanning the crowd for the Hufflepuff's familiar face. There were so many people in the spacious chamber. Perseas hadn't imagine what an impact had such an event to the school's students. He wasn't really into this kind of events but the decisive factor for his presence there tonight was when Rhiannon told him that she had a date. In any other case, he would be there to replace those finger foods with puking pastilles. "And she's not my girlfriend. I just like to annoy her." he snapped when he processed in his head how she called her. Perseas didn't really care of what Rhiannon might was wearing like his date wondered. He was more interested to find out who was her date tonight and maybe play a clever prank on both of them. "Maybe you're not the only one being late tonight." he said as they stopped at one of the buffets. Perseas picked a cauldron cake sprinkled with sugar and took a bite. "Try one. Is really good."he said after swallowing. He was trying to pretend he was cool in front of Victoria. Like this night wasn't orbiting around his quest to find Rhiannon and make her jealous. "Have you been to last year's Yule Ball?" he asked his date while shooting glances around them.

 

[Victoria Chase]

Slowly but surely, the concept of a boy constantly irritating a girl was getting truer and truer by the minute. Vee always thought that the more immature a boy was, the more chances of irritating a girl would happen for his own pleasure. Although with Perseas stating that annoying Rhiannon was something he liked, the young lady looked at him like he was a crazy psycho and blinked once, feeling quite sorry for the Hufflepuff he liked. Whenever he was around, he probably only brought the strongest irritation Rhiannon McGowan had ever felt in her entire lifetime. Victoria looked away, slightly disgusted about it and settled instead of viewing the decorations. Whoever enchanted the castle to look like this was a brilliant person with such a classy taste.

They reached the buffet table which had so many kinds of food that Vee was overwhelmed only by looking at it. With so many variations, her taste buds would be drunk when she only reached the third appetizer. Vee shook her head, seeing that it was a sugary treat to decline. She did not want to gain a stomach now that she was in a ball like this and the familiar kick of insecurity abruptly pushed itself in her head. Also, she did not want to trust Perseas entirely. It was just so weird if she did. Instead she got a glass of water with lemon on the side that was being served around and took a sip. When he started a conversation, she smiled pleasantly at him before responding. "Never, actually. I thought it was sort of lame and a waste." Vee briefly looked at the space behind Perseas, seeing no familiar Hufflepuff around as of now. She looked back at him. "This whole thing proved me wrong though." Back at home she was used to these fancy balls, wherein people did nothing but laugh out of politeness and the teenagers like her were forced to spend time with each other, tediously starting and ending mindless conversations. This was much better, since no parents were around. "Were you at the Ball last year? Maybe to perform some of your tricks?" She queried lightly, taking another sip from her glass thinking that this whole conversation was dull and until they found who they were looking for, she was stuck in the discussion.

She looked over her shoulder out of nowhere, hoping to end this search of theirs so she could escape this small talk. Going down to business was the exciting part and introductions were just there to fill in their time. When she saw a young lady standing with her date in front of her, her eyes gleamed abruptly and she looked back at Perseas. Not caring if she'd interrupt his response, she decided to cut in. "Stop right there because I found her." Vee tossed a sideways glance over her shoulder for him to follow her direction of sight because right there and there, she spotted Rhiannon McGowan. Vee set down her glass of water and thought of maybe the lamest way she could get themselves in to the other pair's conversation. She walked up to Perseas and stationed herself beside him, so that they were parallel to one another. She hooked her arm to his and without warning, basically pulled him to the other pair of third years so they could start the striking. "Let's go."
​

edited this post so we could transfer to the other thread!