School Once More

[Indiana Night]

Indiana had a wonderful break at home, but she did miss her friends. Especially Preston, but he was more than a friend. She did miss Tybalt a lot as well, but he seemed to be drifting off from her and spending his time with someone else, though she wasn't sure who it was. She was a curious person but she decided to let him tell her when he wanted too. Plus it wasn't like she had told him about her and Preston. She hoped the last letter of the summer had gotten to Preston before he left to come back to school. It asked him t meet her in the courtyard the day they got back after the sorting ceremony. She was excited to see him, smiling all the way down from the Gryffindor Common room. She was glad that she had taken the chance to really notice him cause otherwise they wouldn't be together. Indiana always thought he was cute but wasn't sure if it was a friendly cute or if she did like him. But considering she was looking forward to see him again the moment they had parted she knew she did really like him.

Indiana was pretty sure that this semester was going to be great, as long as things went her way. She really wanted to be a full member of the Quidditch team this year and she figured she had more of a shot now that their old Quidditch captain was gone. Of course she wasn't sure if that girl passed a note onto the new guy to make her an alternate if she tried out, which wouldn't be fair at all. But she was going to be on the same team nonetheless with her best friend and other mates. Take classes and get to sit with her boyfriend. Have time to spend with Preston and actually enjoy herself. Last year she had been so wrapped up not having her sister at school anymore and missing her that she hadn't really spent much time doing things she would enjoy. But she already felt that she was going to have a great year and was very excited for it. Walking into the courtyard she headed over and sat on one of the stone benches and waited for Preston to arrive.

 

[Preston Paine]

Preston didn't have far to travel at all to reach the courtyard, so he'd spent his free morning lounging on his bed, re-reading some of the letters Indiana had sent him over the vacation. They'd been pretty serious about their letters, talking about their days and confessing how much they missed each other. Preston had begged his mother to let him meet up with Indiana so they could buy their books together, but she'd refused, insisting that she was too busy to take him any other day. Preston had refused to talk to her for a day after that. She'd redeemed herself as he'd left by running out with one last letter from Indiana as his father was taking him to the train. He'd thanked her and even hugged her goodbye for that. Living so close to the school meant that Preston wouldn't see Indiana until they'd arrived to the castle, but try as he might, he hadn't even been able to do that. The Great Hall had been so crowded and loud that he hadn't been able to spot her. And, he had to sit with the other Slytherins so he hadn't even had the opportunity to seek her out. At least he had her letter and the promise of seeing her to keep him through dinner.

With a grin, the teen stuffed the letter deep into his chest with the others before shutting it. The guys would never let him live down the fact that he'd kept them all. He took the dungeon steps two at a time, reaching the courtyard quickly. As he passed through the archway, Preston spotted Indiana. His smile widened as he headed over to her. She looked even prettier than she had just a few months ago. Preston didn't think he looked any different other than the three inches he'd gained. His father had joked that he'd probably be his height when he returned at the end of the year, but Preston laughed that idea off. Picking up his hand and giving a wave, the Slytherin smiled at his girlfriend. That was still pretty cool to be able to say, though he hadn't told anyone but his parents. "Hey Indiana" he said as he reached her. Preston surprised himself by bending slightly down to give her a hug. It felt good to hold her. The letters, while definitely entertaining, were nothing compared to this.

 

[Indiana Night]

Indiana could hear the footsteps on Preston coming into the courtyard. Well she wasn't sure if that was actually his footsteps or not but she did honestly hope they would be. Seeing him come in she instantly had a smile on her face. It was good to see him again and not just his handwriting. She did love his letters, sometimes words were a little hard to read. But she loved hearing about what he was doing in New Zealand at his house while on break. It was cool to hear about how he found the muggle world, being muggle born and now knowing he was a wizard and what a bigger world everything really was. Indiana had grown up basically a muggle, because of her father but there was her mother's mother who called herself a witch and was able to crazy things. She also had a head start in the magic world then him because she had two older siblings who were also both of magic blood. So she loved hearing how the whole new world thing was for Preston. Plus, having someone she could call her boyfriend made it so she wanted to also talk to that person.

Preston leaned down and hugged her, making Indiana feel like she couldn't even describe, she was so happy to see him once again. He seemed pretty much the same guy as when she had lost saw him. With the letters, she felt like she hadn't missed much at all. It was nice to see him again, she also wondered if she'd be able to convince him to go back to the pitch and fly with her some day. The first go hadn't been too terrible, he had done pretty good but she knew height and falling aspect scared him. Probably didn't help that she had crash fallen off her broom and missed their entire second year. "It's good to see you again, I've missed you smile," she said as she pulled back to look at his face. She felt sort of awkward now seeing him and unsure of what to do. They were together but for both it was their first relationship.

 

[Preston Paine]

Letting Indiana go wasn’t too difficult especially since he knew that she wasn’t going away. For the next few months, they’d be in the same location albeit different houses. He blushed upon hearing her words, his smile growing even broader despite himself. Preston took a seat beside Indiana. He was all too aware of her presence beside him. He could feel the heat where their legs were almost touching. Despite having had a ton of things to say to hear, the boy was at a sudden loss. Now, he remembered why it was so much easier to speak with Indiana via letter. She was just too distracting in person, which was something that Preston had never really experienced before. He’d never been particularly shy or particularly quiet, but in front of Indiana he was both…sometimes. Not wanting the moment to grow too awkward, Preston spoke. “I missed you too. I was looking for you last night during the feast, but it was too crowded.”


Preston turned slightly so that he was facing Indiana just a little more. In the past, he would have spoken with Indiana about her holiday, asking her what she’d done and whether she’d enjoyed herself. That would be a waste of time this year. They’d spent the months speaking of their nothing but their holiday. Preston knew exactly what she’d been up to just as she knew what he’d been doing. “This was a really good idea” Preston said with a nod. Indiana always had really good ideas. “Did you want to do anything in particular?” he asked, wondering if she wanted to remain in the courtyard or if she wanted to walk around. Preston was up for either. The courtyard wasn’t super crowded so he wouldn’t mind sticking around if that was what Indiana wanted.

 

[Indiana Night]

Indiana smiled as Preston sat down next to her. She was very excited to have some one on one time with him. He was practically the only person he had really written and kept up talking with during the break so she knew it would be pointless to do the typical conversation she would have with most people. It was nice to see Preston again but they knew everything so it was hard to say what they should talk about, unless they talked about the upcoming semester, which would be sort of boring. "Dinner last night was crazy, this one kid blew up this girl's pumpkin pastie in her face," Indiana said shaking her head but unable to keep the smile off her face. She of course did feel bad at laughing at the girl but it was funny. Leaning more over towards her boyfriend she they were touching more than they were before, Indiana smiled at Preston.

A slight blush came over her when he turned towards her. He also complimented her which was partially why she was blushing. But she also was overwhelmed with just how good looking he had become over summer. She figured it might of just been her mind thinking of him as more of his first year self than third year self over the summer, but he seemed to do a lot more growing up this past summer. His dark tan skin complemented her tan skin. They looked like two kids who had been on the beach all summer building sand castles. "Oh, it doesn't matter to me. I figured not many people would think of using the courtyard much the first few days," she said looking down at her feet for a moment while thinking before glancing back at Preston.

 

[Preston Paine]

Preston chuckled at what Indiana had told him. He thought it was a bit rude for a guy to do that to a girl, but the thought of pumpkin pastie all over someone’s face was pretty amusing. It was difficult to not give any sign that Indiana moving closer to him didn’t affect him at all, but Preston tried not to though he couldn’t stop the sharp intake when their knees touched. “I think everyone was in a joking mood. Some guy in my common room switched one of the prefect’s wands with a trick one. It turned into a rubber chicken when he tried to use it” Preston laughed at the memory. Luckily, the prefect was one with a sense of humor and simply laughed rather than try to punish the culprit. It had probably helped that the practical joker was a friend of the prefect’s.

“It looks like you’re right” Preston said easily before adding, “as usual.” Unlike some guys who might be bothered about having a girlfriend who was quite a bit smarter than he was, Preston didn’t mind at all. Her smarts and practical nature were two of the things Preston liked most about Indiana. “Better for us” Preston continued, a shy smile crossing his face. “I like when we’re alone…or close to alone anyway.” The boy’s brown eyes glanced around the courtyard before slowly reaching for his girlfriend’s hand. Intertwining their fingers after only a slight fumble, Preston stared down at their linked hands, admiring how well they fit. It was pretty nice to hold her hand. Keeping them linked, Preston glanced back at Indiana. “I had an idea on my way to school. Would you be interested in trying to get matching costumes for the Halloween party this year?” The idea had come to him when he’d passed by a couple who were wearing matching denim jackets in the train station.

 

[Indiana Night]

"Really?" Indiana said in astonishment to what her boyfriend told her. She was sure if anyone did that to a Gryffindor Prefect the house would already be in negative points. Her prefects never seemed to be able to joke around and have fun. Always doing their duty, her sister had been that way, as it was her last two years it did make sense. She wished Georgiana had been Head Girl but her sister had said she was glad she wasn't, she didn't think she'd be able to hold up the title as good as the girl who got it. Indiana enjoyed spending time and talking with Preston, it was nice and the world always seemed to back away and let them be alone which was nice. Here, right now, she got to hold his hand without some first year saying ew at them, or older students cracking jokes about them and their houses. She felt as though some might get upset with the fact the two were from opposing houses, but Indiana really did like Preston. She wasn't sure exactly what love was but she figured at one point she would figure that out.
Indiana smiled in response though she didn't think she was right very much of the time. But it was nice to have someone compliment her and she didn't want to offend Preston by saying she didn't think so out loud. She knew even just talking with her and asking her out had been hard because he had been so nervous. She didn't want him to believe that she didn't appreciate being his girlfriend, it would make all those nerves seem like for nothing. Plus she had enjoyed writing him all summer and getting closer to him that way. She really did like Preston, he made her blush as well. "Like first year? Only on purpose this time? I like that idea," she said to him. Indiana remembered her first ball at Hogwarts wearing her white dress with wings her sister made for her and Preston showing up like the devil. They had made a funny pair with Tybalt dressed as some character from a play who had the same name. It had been a fun night with her two closest friends at school.

 

[Preston Paine]

“Yup” Preston replied with a nod. “They were friends though, so I guess that’s why the prefect wasn’t mad.” Preston wasn’t sure that anyone else would have been able to get away with pranking a prefect. The Slytherin prefects seemed alright for the most part, but it seemed that prefects, in general, didn’t have very good senses of humor. Preston enjoyed seeing Indiana smile, so when she did he found himself smiling too.

When Indiana responded to him, Preston’s brow furrowed. It took him a moment, but eventually he brightened as he remembered first his costume and then Indiana’s costume from first year. They’d inadvertently gone to the Halloween Feast as an angel and devil. It had been pretty amusing, especially since they hadn’t planned it. “Oh, I remember that” he spoke. “You were an angel. I liked that costume on you” Preston added. Back then, he hadn’t really thought of Indiana how he did now. He’d always thought she was nice and he supposed she had always been pretty. His eleven year old self hadn’t really been concerned about that sort of thing though. He wasn’t sure exactly what he thought of her now. All he knew was that he really had fun hanging out with her and he was glad to be able to hang out with her more. And, she was really pretty. “What should we go as?” he asked. He’d come up with the idea when he’d gone with his dad to a football game and seen a couple headed to the game wearing the same jersey. But, he hadn’t really come up with any costume ideas.

 

[Indiana Night]

Indiana found herself smiling more than she had reading his letters, by just being with Preston. She really did like him and she thought she made a pretty good choice in agreeing to his very awkward and timid asking her out. He was a sweet guy, not the typical Slytherin at all. She thought back to the Halloween outfit her sister had made for her. She loved being the angel, she hoped she had the personality for it as well though she always thought her sister was much nicer and kinder than she was. But her sister was also her role model so it made sense for the younger girl to think so.

Indiana herself wasn't very sure what they could go as a couple together. "What about surfer dude and babe?" She asked thinking back to summer and the movies that were always on and how surfers were just the cool summer thing to be. It was spring on the island and so it wouldn't be too terribly chilly. Plus Indiana was getting to the point in her life where she felt confident in herself and sort of did want to show off. She was going to be turning 15 during this school year after all, she wasn't a little girl any more.

 

[Preston Paine]

When Preston heard Indiana’s suggestion, he chuckled. He was ready to say that it wasn’t much of a costume at all, but stopped himself. For wizards, it probably was a costume since surfing was more of a muggle thing to do. He hadn’t ever heard any of the guys, at least not from his house, talk about surfing. Preston actually did own a surfboard, though how his parents would manage to get it to him via owl was beyond him. Perhaps it would be easier to fashion one out of something in the castle. “That sounds cool. I can make a surf board, and I can have my parents send my wetsuit and my boots” he responded excitedly. He had let go of Indiana’s hand so he could tick off on his fingers the things that he would need for the costume.

He began to think about what the female surfers on the beach he went to wore, so he could give Indiana some ideas. “You know what girl surfers wear, right?” Blushing, Preston wondered if Indiana would even be able to wear what some female surfers did. “Are you sure you want to? I mean I’m ok with it if you are, more than ok…” he trailed off, his cheeks growing even more red. The boy’s gaze quickly moved to see if anyone else had overheard him. He already knew that Indiana had and that was already bad enough. He hadn’t meant to say that part out loud at all, but the words had escaped him before he could stop himself.