Blinded by your grace

[Octavian Vetrov]

For a little while, it seemed like things were finally going to work out between Octavian and Camelia but out of nowhere she was dating some Ravenclaw kid and it left Octavian unsure of where he stood with his fiancee. All Octavian could do was try not to think about the girl he had begun to feel things for and instead focus on anything else. With his sister off somewhere with her idiot boyfriend and not much going on in the common room Octavian made his way down to the courtyard to get some fresh air only when he arrived, he saw something rather unexpected.

A girl. Alone. Blindfolded. Octavian looked around to see if there was anyone around who could be with the girl but the courtyard was surprisingly empty for the time of day which begged the question, what was she doing out there? Octavian's curiosity got the better of him and he made his way over and sat next to the girl. "Dare I ask?" He asked struggling to contain his laughter.

 

[Celebi Kovalenko]

Celebi Kovalenko was nothing shy of gullable. Perhaps it was her own fault, she had recently snuck canary creams in Leo's snacks for him to find - even if she wasn't sure he'd found them - so maybe that's why he left her in the courtyard with a blindfold on. Or maybe it was another elaborate way for him to try and hook her up with his brother. The blonde wasn't sure which, but she had time to kiss, and frankly listening to the sounds of the court yard while sat on her knees was quite relaxing.

The blonde turned her head at the noise of a voice, and stopped picking at the grass in the ground. "Oh! Sorry!" She laughed, holding a hand over her chest. "You startled me." She remarked, almost removing her blind fold. "My best friend said he had a surprise for me, but now I'm kinda in a pickle." The Irish girl spoke. "If he was just trying to see how long I'd stay down here because he thinks I'm gullible, then he's winning. But if he's got a real surprise and i remove this, I'm a jerk." She chuckled. "Anyways, I don't recognize your voice, I'm Celebi." She said, extending a hand in an awkward fashion, so as not to smack him with her tendrils. "Wanna stay and talk with me while I wait? It was getting kinda boring." She admitted, picking at the grass again.

 

[Octavian Vetrov]

Octavian couldn't help but notice that the girl in front of him was stunning and finding her alone and blinded folded was certainly...a strange situation. He listened as she told him about her best friend and how she was still holding onto the idea that he actually had an idea in store for her. He almost hated to tell her that it was highly likely he was playing some prank on her and she would likely be out there all night. Octavian could think of a few things to do with a blindfolded girl like her and leaving her on her own was pretty far down on the list.

"Sure I'll stay and talk," Octavian said taking a seat next to her. "So tell me, does your best friend do things like this a lot? What makes you so sure he hasn't just left you out here for the giggles?" He asked.

 

[Celebi Kovalenko]

The blonde sat with a smile on her face, tugging at her knee-length skirt a little. Celebi didn't mind having company that she couldn't see, after all it could be a ghost and that might frighten her. What if it was just Leo putting on a voice - no he wasn't that talented. She didn't think anyways. Moving her hands from her lap to toy with her hair she shrugged. "I mean the blindfold thing is a first. However sometimes he hides my snack foods. I put canary creams in his box of junk though, so I'm sure he'll get a laugh out of that." She said chuckling. "I'm not sure, but if he did, then I was eventually going to give up. But maybe he's bringing me some snack foods! Or him and his grilfriend are off having a laugh. What do you think?" She asked, putting her hands on the boys shoulder after a few tries, as if pleading for his answer to be the right one, somehow hoping he could see the future. That was a thing people in the magical world could do after all, wasn't it?

 

[Octavian Vetrov]

Octavian laughed as the girl mentioned that she put canary creams in her friend's box of junk food. It definitely sounded like the kind of thing her friend would want to get her back for. Any doubt in his mind that she had been left on her own for her friend's amusement was eliminated by that piece of information. "Yeah this sounds like payback," Octavian laughed nudging the girl slightly. "But I'm not complaining, it put you here and it's not every day I walk out to the courtyard and find a beautiful blindfolded girl almost as if you were waiting for me," He smirked at the girl and caught her pulling at her skirt from the corner of his eye and moved to place his hand on her knee. "You're right they are probably having a laugh, maybe we should have a little fun of their own,"

 

[Celebi Kovalenko]

The laugh from Celebi's new friend made the blonde assume that perhaps this person appreciated pranks. It would be nice to have some defense, especially if he was in her house. How could she have forgotten to ask? "Are you a Gryffindor?" She asked, making the assumption based purely on how friendly he seemed. Though she supposed Hufflepuffs were friendly as well. After all Alessio turned out to be very kind. Celebi heard his next statement, and was about to laugh it off, until he called her beautiful. Into her face creeped a blush, only strengthened by a hand on her knee. It was through her skirt but it was present and she removed her hands from his shoulder, but left them floating slightly, unsure of how to react. "Fun?" She asked, then tried to relax herself. "You mean like getting back at them?" She asked after a moment of silence, returning her hands to the hem of her skirt, tugging down at the material again.

 

[Octavian Vetrov]

Octavian was a little surprised by the question that the girl asked. Why was it so important that he was a Gryffindor? Was she one too? Was her friend? "Yes I'm a Gryffindor, sixth year and damn handsome if I do say so myself," The girl was blindfolded so it wasn't like she could argue, not that she would. It was quite cute to see her remove her hands from his shoulders and didn't seem to know what to do with them. It seemed he was having quite an effect on the girl which was exactly what he was hoping for. "Well, we could do that too," Octavian smirked. "What do you say we take off this blindfold?" Octavian suggested.

 

[Celebi Kovalenko]

Celebi heard his answer and laughed. "We're in the same year! I've probably seen you a hundred times! I can't believe we've never talked!" The Irish girl exclaimed with a renewed air of excitement, almost forgetting the hand on her knee; almost. Cel heard him mention removing the blindfold and sucked her lower lip in between her teeth, nibbling it gently in thought before shrugging. "I mean, worst that happens I ruin Leo's surprise. Then he pouts about it, right?" She asked with a small laugh before moving her hands behind her head, searching for the blindfold. It took a few moments and winces of pain considering it had been tied into her hair, for Celebi to remove the black cloth he'd used to blindfold her in the first place. "He's not good at tying these." She whined, ripping a bit of hair out as she finally pulled the cloth off. She rubbed at her basil orbs before finally opening them and laying eyes on her conversation partner.

it didn't take long for Celebi's face to turn from peaches and cream to vermilion as she realized the Gryffindor before her was right, he was very attractive. Between his blonde hair, pearly whites, and pointed jaw. Immediately any ability to form a sentence left Celebi along with her nerves. "I..." She started to stutter out a sentence before looking down at his hand and at her knees, and the grass she'd picked so hard at. Celebi had no ability to speak to anyone male or female that she found overly attractive, not without putting too much thought into it. So now she was silent, hoping he didn't notice the fact that she was overwhelmed.

 

[Octavian Vetrov]

Octavian laughed, it was entirely possible they had both seen each other quite often over the years. "Maybe, though I think I'd have made an impression on you if you had," Octavian laughed trying to keep his comments light. Even if every word he said was deadly serious. Octavian was glad that the conversation between the pair was running so smoothly and when the girl mentioned her friend by name is sounded vaguely familiar. He was sure one of the prefects was called Leo, maybe that was her friend. Finally, it seemed like the girl was ready to take her blindfold off. Octavian was a little disappointed when she raised her hands to the back of her head to untie it as he had wanted to do it himself.

As the blindfold came off and they made eye contact for the first time a silence fell between them. Suddenly the girl was at a loss for words and that made Octavian smirk. Looking at his face had evidently rendered her speechless and he could only assume it was the good way. Sure they had just met but it was clear from the girls reaction that she was attracted to him and he was certainly attracted to her, her piercing green eyes only enhanced that. Octavian decided to just go for it as he leaned in and planted his lips on hers.

 

[Leo Benivieni]

Leo had left his friend Celebi after he had blindfolded her, and promised he would be back. Granted, as he left her there for a few minutes, he figured it wasn't the just thing to do, as he thought it over a second time. The Gryffindor Prefect almost felt guilty he had deserted the girl like that, but he had an idea in mind. Normally, when Leo had something in mind, it was hard for someone to convince him otherwise, or not go through with it, unless it had serious consequences. But this was an amazing idea and he just had to find something - or more correctly, someone - first. Leo wondered if Cel would even stay where she was for this long, but apparently, once he was done talking to his brother about his top secret plan and went back out in the courtyard to tell her his surprise was not ready yet therefore it would be postponed, he stopped short when he saw something he rather would not have seen.

He couldn't see who the boy was from this angle, but he knew Celebi alright. And she had taken off the blindfold - of course she had. Leo smirked, but that smirk was quickly replaced with one of disgust, and confusion. Didn't Celebi admit a few weeks ago to liking Alessio? What on earth was she doing with that boy, then? Leo approached the pair and cleared his throat. "Sorry to interrupt this little, um, thing going on between you two, but Leo has returned. Unless of course you want to continue, then I'll leave you guys to it." The corner of his lips were tugged upward and the Italian was doing his best to hide the confusion he previously held. Boy did she have some explaining to do.

 

[Celebi Kovalenko]

Celebi's hands continued to clutch the bottom of her skirt, she was so caught off guard that her eyes didn't even close at first. Celebi had never kissed anyone. Not once, and the feeling of a semi-strangers lips on her own made her heart beat faster than a horses hooves when running from a wildfire. He was the wild fire she should have been running from, but she couldn't. He had called her beautiful and showed her interest. Alessio thought she was cute, she was just a friend to him. Celebi moved a hand to his shoulder, and finally closed her eyes, leaning into the kiss with all her bravery.

This lasted only a short while though as she heard the clearing of a throat. There was Leo, stood over them. "Leo!" She exclaimed. Her heart fell in her chest. He was going to tell Less. She took in a deep shaking breath and smiled awkwardly. She glanced back at Octavian's face, still too nervous to talk, hoping he'd have a good explanation beyond what she would have.

 

[Octavian Vetrov]

Octavian was a little surprised that the kiss was so short, he had expected the girl to give into it more but when he heard her say a name the situation became clear. "The famous Leo," Octavian said turning his attention to the boy. "Maybe now you can solve the mystery of the girl in the blindfold," Octavian let out a quiet laugh as he tried to read the expression on the boys face. Was it jealousy or concern or both? "No need Leo, you successfully ruined the moment so you might as well stay,"

 

[Leo Benivieni]

What surprised Leo the most about Celebi was the fact that she had seemed to enjoy kissing Octavian, and he didn't want to think about what he had just witnessed for that long. If his brother found out.. His eyes widened slightly, maybe Alessio should not find out. At least, for now. It wasn't Leo‘s business to tell his own brother that his supposed crush had kissed someone else. Besides, he knew Sio didn't like Celebi in the same way, Leo‘s plan didn't work out. "Sup, bro," Leo nodded, a little awkwardly, in Octavian‘s direction. "Mystery solved," he chuckled. He ruined the moment? Whoops. "Well then, alright," he said, taking a seat between the pair in case they tried anything in his presence. "Soooo. If you wanted to keep this a secret, don't worry, it's not like I have many people to tell," he teased, sending a wink in his friend‘s direction just to tease her.

 

[Celebi Kovalenko]

Celebi removed her eyes from the ground to look to Octavian, the handsome blonde seemed irritated that there was such a briefness between them. However Celebi wasn't sure what she was supposed to do to rectify that though. Her hand moved gently to her lips for a very brief moment - they tingled almost as if they were numb and she wanted to make sure they hadn't fallen off. Leo sat between them, and Celebi couldn't help but feel he was being protective. The blonde looked at her friend. "I'm not keeping it a secret... I don't think. We didn't get a chance to discuss the kiss exactly..." She spoke, trying hard to pace her words as the sped out of her mouth. She leaned past Leo to look at Octavian, face still beet red, hoping he had an answer to if it was a secret. "I don't think you're very sorry." She muttered to Leo in reference to his interruption.

 

[Octavian Vetrov]

Octavian nodded in response to Leo when the boy greeted him and moved to allow him to squeeze between them. It was clear that he was either jealous or he was being protective as he did all he could to get in the middle of them. At the mention of their kiss being a secret, Octavian looked from Celebi to Leo and back wondering what she thought of it all. "Why would I want to keep this a secret?" He asked the pair. "It was fun and I hope we do it again sometime," He said maintaining eye contact with Leo to see how reacted to his declaration.

 

[Leo Benivieni]

"You're right, I‘m not," Leo smirked slightly as he whispered back at his friend referring to him not being sorry for the interruption, before turning to Octavian. It was better he found out than his brother. So technically, he had done her some sort of favour. She had avoided another awkward moment. Leo couldn't help but to scoff at his dorm mate‘s reply, was he trying to annoy him? Well, it was working. Leo was feeling protective and he didn't want to see Cel get hurt, besides he hardly knew Octavian (despite them having been in the same house, year and dorms for six years). "You better not hurt her," Leo warned, and poked the guy‘s chest with his index finger once. He glanced at Celebi and Octavian and back again.

 

[Celebi Kovalenko]

Celebi felt as if her face was going to burst into flames when Octavian told her they should do what they were doing again. She wasn't sure if he meant the kissing or the talking, but regardless the Gryffindor was flattered - happy to hear he was enjoying spending time with her. Leo, however, ever the big brother figure mortified her by poking her newest friend in the chest. "Leo!" She spoke in a hissing tone. "Stop!" She then looked at Octavian. "Do you, wanna maybe uhm do it again at the dance or something, it's coming up and it's a good place to do, things like talk and stuff." The Irish girl stuttered through her sentence, making brief eye contact every few words, looking past her friend and ignoring anything he might have to say about the situation. After all - he was most likely only upset because Celebi was trying to move past his brother, whom was not interested in her in the first place. What better way to make a new friend then by going to the dance, and maybe kissing them right? Wasn't that sort of how she and Leo became friends, minus the kissing part - though at one point they may have considered it. It wasn't right in her mind or his though - and before they could get to that point they had decided they were better as best friends.

 

[Octavian Vetrov]

Octavian raised his arms in a mock surrender when Leo warned him not to hurt her. "Hey man, she's perfectly safe with me," He chuckled. It was sweet that the boy was so protective of his friend but he was starting to get in the way. Octavian turned his attention back to Celebi when she mentioned the dance. He hadn't thought about the dance since Camelia was dating someone but it seemed like a good opportunity to be alone with Celebi and away from her hovering friend. "That's a great idea, would you like to go to the dance with me?" He asked smiling at her.