Closed Prince Charming

[Dominique Malone]

Dominique Malone had never been anything but a girl of action. When she wanted something, she made sure it happened. Uncompromising, that was how you had to be to succeed at auditions, to accomplish your dreams, to get things done. And so uncompromising was what Domi was going to be, every day of her life. And frankly, Domi had been compromising too long. Diana's breakup had reminded Domi how fleeting the nature of love was, and she absolutely wasn't going to let something so important slip through her fingers. Domi had left it a while, waiting for Diana to have some time to grieve her breakup with that weirdo before making her own moves, as she certainly didn't want to be bragging about her new boyfriend while Diana was still so upset. But Domi couldn't wait forever, and the boy of her dreams was standing right in front of her.

Literally, as it happened. Domi felt like she had waited forever. The hallway she had chosen was a little ways off where she thought the Hufflepuff common room must be, but Domi was fairly sure this had to be a corridor Tristan used relatively often. So where was he? Crumpling the notes in her pocket, Domi paced up and down the hallway, trying to shake off more stage fright than she had felt since she was a little kid. Domi had rehearsed the lines she had written herself enough to be well and truly off book, but for the first time in her life, she actually felt nervous about messing up a line. Domi had performed on stages her whole life, but she had never done anything like this. Before her nerves could get the better of her though, there he was. He had turned the corner, and was heading right for her. The most beautiful boy Domi had ever seen in her whole life. The hallway wasn't as crowded as Domi had hoped when she was planning this, and she wondered for a brief moment if that was why she was so nervous. Domi always performed best for her biggest audiences.

But today's show was really intended for an audience of one. Stepping out in front of Tristan, Domi moved to block the prefect's path, the brightest smile she could manage on her face. When planning this, Domi had imagined talking with him first, asking how he was going and if he would like to hear her reciting a monologue, but now that the moment had come, Domi knew she simply had to go for it. Performing was what she did best, and perform, she was going to do. So, with a broad gesture of her arms, Domi launched into the lines she had spent hours writing. It was some of her best work yet, and she couldn't help but be proud of it.
"Once upon a time, but not so far away,
A princess was trapped, and her prince saved the day!
The princess was smitten, but another stole his heart
And kept the prince and his true love apart!
The princess was anguished, but yet still she planned
She thought hard about how to secure his hand!
For the princess was born with an incredible gift
Through her words and her voice any spell she could lift!
Crafting her rhymes, at last she was prepared
To make hers the prince who saved her from stairs
With a poem she swayed him from the witch's incline
Saving his soul, she asked, "Will you be mine?"
From that day forth, their love was the best,
And all because the prince answered..."
Domi trailed off at the end of her monologue, a bright flush across her face to match the bright grin she wore. She had delivered the poem perfectly, and finished with a flourish, holding her hand out. Now, all Tristan had to do was figure out that 'yes' was the word to complete her rhyme, take her hand, and this would go down in history as the greatest romantic proposition of all time. Domi's heart raced with the thrill of it all. She couldn't believe how well she had pulled this off.

 

[Tristan Collins]

Tristan had been struggling with a bad mood for most of the semester so far. A few things in his life right now were still good, but there were also many things that weren't going as he planned. Tristan enjoyed it when things went as planned, or at least worked out in his favor. The most recent news was that Vivian was now dating someone, which plagued his mind way more than it should. He had pretended to Vivian's face not to care about it, but he did. He knew he was in no position to actually say anything negative, though. Not without Vivian questioning Tristan's own insistence on dating other people. He wasn't going to give up October just because he was a little jealous of Vivian's new guy. The kid wasn't going to steal Vivian's heart away, he was sure of that. There was no way he would be better than Tristan.

But the whole situation did make him realize he hadn't seen October as much this year as he had wanted. The two of them were both very busy with their prefect duties, and October had Quidditch on top of that. They also both worked hard for their grades, and though Tristan liked studying with her, sometimes it was a little annoying to only spend their time together with their nose in their books. So as he left the common room today, he intended to find his girlfriend and get her tos pend some time with him that didn't involve any studying whatsoever. It was long overdue. He had a slight smile on his face as he headed into the corridor, as he was happy with his plans for today. But the smile melted away as someone stepped in front of him, blocking his path. He knew who this girl was, and would have been happy never to see her again. He had helped her last year, which had caused the girl to attach to him in a very embarrassing way. He didn't mind that a younger student had a crush on him. In any other circumstance it might be something that would lift his ego a little, but this girl was awfully obnoxious about it. He was already forming the words of an excuse to avoid her in his mouth, when she gestured with her arms and launched into a.... poem of some sort. Tristan stared at her in disbelief, the words not processing in his brain for a moment before he realized that she had written this for him.Making up a whole story about the one time he had helped her get out of a staircase with a disappearing step. To his mortification, Tristan could feel his cheeks heat up. Did this girl have no shame? It was a blessing the hallways was mostly empty, but he had to put a stop to this before anyone with reason to make fun of him caught this exchange. The idea of Rory Fergusson seeing this was enough to make Tristan even angrier at the girl for making such a public spectacle of her crush. He had tried to be nice in the past, but it seemed like that hadn't helped.

It took him a few seconds to find his words, and when he did, he pulled her aside a little, trying to draw as little attention as possible to this exchange. He didn't bother taking any of the venom out of his voice as he hissed at her. "What on earth were you thinking? In what world was that appropriate in any way? I helped you out, once. You know I have a girlfriend, since you mentioned her. What do you think this will accomplish?" The embarrassment and anger coursing through him wasn't bad enough to make him lose his temper yet, but he needed this girl to get out of his face quickly. "Just leave me alone." He said, gesturing to the corridor. "I'm not your prince, okay? Just go."

 

[Dominique Malone]

After finishing her poem with a flourish, Domi felt like she was holding her finishing pose for an eternity. She had been entirely focused on her performance as it was taking place, but now that it was over she was able to actually take in Tristan's expression, and Domi did not like what she saw. The blush could be caused by happiness, but Domi definitely didn't think the rest of his features were indicating any of the emotions she had hoped for. Even as a seasoned actress used to this sort of thing, Domi was beginning to get a little tired of holding her finishing pose when Tristan finally moved, pulling her aside. He was a little rough, and Domi didn't appreciate him trying to take her out of the limelight she had created, but hopefully he just wanted to give his answer in private. Maybe he was shy.

Those hopes, however, were quickly dashed as Tristan spoke, and Domi felt her heart plummet into her stomach. This wasn't what she had hoped for at all. She had put so much time and love into her poem, how had he not seen that? Opening and closing her mouth in horror, Domi struggled to find the words to say, desperate to make Tristan change his mind. "I was just telling you how I feel! You were supposed to say 'yes', that's the next word in the poem! Your girlfriend's not good enough for you, you should be dating the best!" Domi attempted a charming grin, trying to recapture her confidence. "Which is me, of course! I wrote you a whole poem and everything!" When Tristan tried to dismiss her Domi refused to move, desperate to salvage this situation. "No, that's not how this is supposed to go! I told you how I feel, it was a big romantic gesture!" Domi said desperately. In the shows Domi loved, the big romantic gesture always won the other person over and saved the day, how had it failed so spectacularly in this instance?

 

[Arvel Ayers]

One of the advantages of being in Hufflepuff was the short distance between the common room and the library. Arvel had just swapped a book on animate to animate transfiguration for one about common magical pets and was heading back to read it by the fireplace when he drew near two people having an interesting exchange. Well, mostly Dominique was reciting some kind of poem to Tristan, who looked mortified by the whole thing. Not one to pass up an opportunity to watch Tristan be publicly embarrassed, Arvel stopped a few feet away and opened up his book, as if there was something inside it he needed to know in order to carry on his journey. He stole a quick glance as Tristan pulled Domi aside to confront her. Arvel agreed that the poem was a bit embarrassing, and not at all appropriate considering Tristan had a girlfriend, but he was still being harsh. He could have let her down gently, or told her politely that he wasn't interested. Domi grew desperate trying to salvage something from the mess her performance had made. Arvel felt he should walk on, leave them to it, but something kept him rooted in place. He wanted to know how this would end.

 

[Tristan Collins]

Tristan was glad the corridor seemed to be mostly empty, because this was one of the most embarrassing things he'd ever been a part of. He really hoped he could leave this behind him quickly, but the girl was insistent. It frustrated him that the girl wasn't simply giving up at his words, but insisted on arguing her case. He shook his head firmly. "Look, just cut it out. I don't even know you, you're just some kid. I'm not going to date you." He said, looking at her dismissively. "And saying my girlfriend isn't good enough for me, really isn't going to make me like you. This isn't a movie or a story. Your horrible poem isn't going to change anything. Yes doesn't even fit in there in the poem. But even if it did, I never would have said yes to that." He said, frowning at her. "I don't even know your name. What makes you think I would like you?" He added. She may have told him when they first met, but he had forgotten it after their encounter. It hadn't been significant to him, and while he didn't need to let her know, he was hoping it would get her to understand the situation more quickly os she would leave him alone.

 

[Dominique Malone]

If Domi had thought her heart was sinking before, that was nothing compared to now. All remaining traces of her hopes were being plucked from her and ground away to nothing as Tristan spoke. Not content to simply turn her down, tears cracked at Domi's eyes as Tristan tore to pieces everything she had put time and love into preparing for him. How could he call her poem horrible? She had worked so hard on it. Tristan pretending not to even know her name was the final straw. Their meeting had been a gift from fate, how could he have forgotten her? "Do-Dominique..." Domi choked out, the first couple of tears making their way down her cheeks unbidden. "Stop being s-silly, you don't ha-have to pretend you don't know me!"

 

[Arvel Ayers]

Things were escalating more quickly than Arvel had expected, and he was starting to feel uncomfortable. Tristan was making Dominique cry. This wasn't fun any more. This was horrible. But what could Arvel do? He didn't know Dominique well enough to swoop in without being called a white knight again - and that had been an embarrassing experience. But perhaps he didn't have to be the one to break them up. Maybe somebody else could - somebody qualified to. Walking away from the scene, Arvel scanned the length of the corridor for a prefect, any prefect, who could help him. If only he'd paid better attention to who the prefects were for the other houses. October was one, wasn't she? "Hi," he said, half-stepping in front of her. "Um - there's something happening... Tristan's making a girl cry." It sounded like a stupid thing to bring to a prefect's attention, now that Arvel thought about it, but what was done was done.

 

[October Alcott]

October's sixth year at Hogwarts had so far been positively breezy. Everything seemed to finally be going well in her life. All of her classes were interesting, and she was finding it easier to balance the amount of studying she wanted to do with the amount of time she wanted to devote to dancing, and her other hobbies. Plus, she had a boyfriend, and that thought still made her heart spark happily every time she remembered. October had thought for so long that she was some undateable nerd, that nobody would ever like her, but Tristan had changed everything. He was so sweet and thoughtful, and it was fun to compete with him over things like grades and essays. It worried October a little that her sister had such a negative opinion of Tristan, and worried her more that April wouldn't even say why, but nothing she had seen herself led October to the same conclusions. Tristan seemed to be the perfect gentleman.

It was a shock, then, to October, when while making her way back from the arts room, she was approached by a nervous looking younger student. She was used to people asking her questions occasionally as a Prefect, but they usually didn't look so worried. As the boy spoke, though, October struggled to process his words. "Tristan who?" She asked, dumbfounded. There must be another Tristan at the school, some younger student October had never encountered before. That was the only explanation. Her Tristan would never make a girl cry. Unless... was April crying? "Show me." October said urgently, following the boy. Everything was going to be fine. She was sure. This couldn't be her Tristan.

 

[Tristan Collins]

The sight of the girl's tears frustrated and alarmed Tristan. He didn't want anyone to see him with a crying third year, that was definitely not the sort of reputation he needed right before Head Boy was chosen. Already irritated, his frown deepened and he gestured at her impatiently. "Stop that, stop crying." He snapped. "It's not my fault you were deluded, okay? I never gave you the idea that I could possibly like you. Get over yourself." He said. "You're the one who is silly. You're just some silly kid, and you're wasting my time." He looked at her, dismissal clear in his expression. "Go to your common room and get yourself together."

 

[Dominique Malone]

Once Domi's tears had started coming, there was nothing to stop them. As a performer, she was usually excellent at controlling or concealing her emotions, but Domi had never cried like this before. Everything she had hoped for, every daydream she had nursed in her heart was being torn to shreds by this cruel boy. How could Domi have ever though Tristan was her true love? How had such a monster been hiding behind that handsome exterior? Domi choked with sobs, clutching her hand to her mouth, and shook her head insistently. "Don't s-say that!"

 

[Arvel Ayers]

Arvel nodded and led October down the corridor towards the scene. He wasn't sure if it was urgent enough to justify running, and ended up doing a weird quick-step that made him look like he had a limp. When Tristan and Dominique came into view, Arvel stopped and pointed, not wanting to get too close. He suspected Tristan wouldn't be too pleased with Arvel for calling another prefect on him, even if he was the one being mean to Dominique. Still, he hung nearby to watch, hoping Tristan was about to get the telling off he deserved. Poor Dominique. She'd gone the wrong way about trying to ask Tristan out, but she didn't deserve to be talked to that way. Arvel truly felt for her. He knew the pain of wanting somebody he couldn't have. In this case, however, he couldn't help feeling as if Dominique had dodged a curse.

 

[October Alcott]

As October followed the boy towards the commotion, she didn't want to believe what her eyes were seeing. Tristan was standing over a sobbing student, who although she was taller than October, definitely looked much younger. He was calling her names, insulting her, saying things October would never have believed Tristan capable of. It was unthinkable, but it was happening, and October knew she needed to do something.

Swallowing her pain at seeing this side of Tristan and turning it into fury on the girl's behalf, October stormed over to them, putting herself between Tristan and the girl at once. "What on earth do you think you're doing?!" She snapped, poking Tristan sharply in the center of the chest, trying to put more distance between him and the girl he had been berating. "You can't talk to people like that, she's just a kid! You're a prefect, Tristan, what are you thinking?! I thought you were better than this!" The fury burning in October lit all her senses up, and she glared at Tristan, wondering what he could possibly have to say for himself after behaving so reprehensibly.

 

[Tristan Collins]

Tristan was growing more and more annoyed, and was starting to panic a little. This girl was drawing entirely too much attention to herself, and he really didn't want people to start talking. "Stop it-" He said, and started to say more when he suddenly noticed someone approach. Tristan's heart sank as he recognized October. He could tell from her expression that she had seen everything, and wondered how on earth this had happened. Repairing the damage from this would be difficult, if not outright impossible, and he took a small step back as she sharply prodded his chest. "October, you don't understand." He said, shaking his head. "She has been harassing- practically stalking me. I had to so something. She has to understand that's not okay." He said, holding his hands up defensively. "You didn't see the whole situation. What are you even doing here?" He looked around in alarm, wondering if he'd made more of a spectacle of himself than he'd thought. Even if he hadn't, October's loud arrival had definitely drawn the attention of nearby students. His gaze caught on a familiar face, a boy watching them from a distance. Something about the way he was looking at them made it clear that he knew what was going on, and Tristan suspected he had been the one to get his girlfriend involved. Tristan didn't like Arvel, but he still hadn't expected something this low from the boy. He shot him a menacing glare, but then looked back to October quickly. Being mean to another third year in her presence, even if he deserved it, definitely didn't seem very smart.

 

[Dominique Malone]

Domi didn't think she could sink any deeper into the despair she was suffering, when her eyes fell on the only person who could make this horrible situation worse. How had Tristan's awful girlfriend found out about this? The older girl seemed strong despite her height, and Domi was fairly sure if it came to a fight for Tristan, she wouldn't come out the victor. Not that she especially wanted him anymore, anyway. To her surprise though, October's fury was directed not at her, but at Tristan. Domi's tears dried up in shock as she watched the older girl come to her defense, something Domi had never expected. How could she have thought Tristan was her knight in shining armour, when this wonderful girl had been right beside him all along? Domi tucked herself behind October more, relieved that someone had come to her rescue. Her heart sunk again though, when Tristan accused her of stalking him! That was ridiculous! Domi had kept an eye out for him, sure, but she had never followed him around! "That's no-ot true!" Domi blurted out, quickly summoning up more tears. They were clearly her best defense now that October had taken her side, and it didn't take a lot of acting to bring more up when she was this upset. "I ju-just wrote him a po-oem, and he said it was HORRIBLE!" She sobbed out, leaning against the older girl slightly.

 

[Arvel Ayers]

Arvel had expected October to be angry, but not this angry. She was taking it personally, almost as if Tristan had been saying the horrible things to her instead of Dominique. Arvel edged slowly closer, wondering whether he should say something to the Slytherin, offer to take her away from Tristan. He almost laughed at Tristan's claim Dominique had been stalking him, though the smirk soon fell off his face when Tristan caught his eye. Would he know Arvel had been the one who fetched October? He could merely have been a spectator, albeit a fairly invested one, as he was close enough now to hear everything they were saying. He shrank a little under the venom in Tristan's glare, but didn't back away. Arvel had nothing to be ashamed of. He'd done the right thing - or at least, he hoped he had. Something told him Tristan and October had a personal history that Arvel had just torn a rift through, but he wasn't in the mood to care. Presently, he was more concerned about Dominique.

 

[October Alcott]

It felt like for the first time October was seeing through Tristan's mask. He had always seemed so charming, sweet and kind, a perfect gentleman. Cast in this light though, the fact that he was lying to her came across plain as day. October didn't even need to hear the girl's denial to know that Tristan wasn't telling the truth about being stalked. If nothing else, surely he would have said something to her sooner if this had really been going on for so long. "Don't lie to me, Tristan." October snapped, glaring at him. "Whatever happened, there's no excuse for talking to someone like that! You were humiliating a younger student in the middle of a hallway!" The fact was very present to October that they were still in that same hallway, and there were things she wanted to say to Tristan that she didn't especially want an audience for. Turning to the younger boy who had called her attention to this, October tried to soften her expression. "Can you look after her, please?" She asked, gesturing to the sobbing girl behind her, before turning back to Tristan, grabbing his arm. "We need to talk." She said firmly, and began marching him down the hall to find a more quiet corridor.

 

[Dominique Malone]

Domi was relieved that the girl had come to her defense, but the relief was short-lived as they moved away. It was a relief not to have to see Tristan anymore, but her defender was leaving too, and she didn't want to be alone. She looked over at the boy October had directed to help her, wondering if he was the one who had gone for help. If that was the case, it had to be one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for Domi. She had needed saving, and Arvel had made sure she was saved. "T-thank you..." Domi sniffled out, wiping her eyes and trying to get her tears under control.

 

[Arvel Ayers]

In a way, Arvel was relieved October had made such a big scene. It meant he hadn't overreacted by bringing her over in the first place. He nodded as she asked him to look glad Dominique, glad to have a purpose for hanging around. The Slytherin was still crying, trying to stem the flow of tears. Arvel's heart went out to her. It was such a horrible feeling, the public humiliation, being rejected by somebody you admired. He put a hand on the back of her shoulder. "Are you OK?" he asked, not sure what else to say. He wanted to be a comfort, but he'd never been very good at finding the right words to make people feel better.

 

[Dominique Malone]

Domi was relieved to have someone stand by her through such a horrible experience. She started to nod in response to the boy's question, but then shook her head as another wave of tears managed to escape her. "I l-loved him..." Domi choked out, turning to hide her face in Arvel's shoulder as she sobbed. "I do-on't know how he could be so hhhorrible..." She sniffled, relieved that she didn't have to cry alone as the memory of all the awful things Tristan had said flooded back to her.

 

[Arvel Ayers]

Arvel tightened as Dominique leaned into him, but only hesitated for a moment before putting his arms around her. He patted her shoulder awkwardly, wondering what he should do. He barely even knew Dominique - only knew her name because they shared lessons together. People around them were beginning to stare. Was it any wonder? The Slytherin sobbed into his robes, seemingly oblivious to the attention she was attracting. Love was a strong word. Could anybody love a person who didn't even know their name? Even Arvel didn't claim to be in love with Nixon. He just... wanted to be close to him. "He's just a bad person," Arvel said, like this explained all of Tristan's behaviour. "Um... do you want to go somewhere quiet?"

 

[Dominique Malone]

Heartbreaks in plays were always beautiful and tragic, and Domi felt all wrong. This wasn't beautiful. This was ugly, and painful, and the world felt as though it had been flipped on its head. She couldn't contain her sobs now, ugly and tragic and heart wrenching. It was all she could do to nod when Arvel suggested they go somewhere else. As much as Domi usually relished an audience, she didn't much want anyone seeing her like this. Arvel's kindness was the only good thing to take from this awful experience, and she knew she wouldn't be forgetting the boy any time soon.