Fandom Challenges Most Foul

[xLotte]

Autumn was really enjoying herself. She hadn't expect it to be fun, surely not after what Axel had said before they started. And ofcourse they all had to concentrate and be focused, but besides that there was more than enough time to make jokes. She liked Conner, now that he wasn't glued to his girlfriend, and could understand why he and Axel were such good friends. They didn't talk much, besides some lame jokes and time went by rather quick.

She smiled when Axel came towards them, feeling a bit proud of herself. She didn't get hit and even managed to dismantle Conner once, so she could hit with the stinging jinx. Even though she'd felt sorry for him immediately after that, he wouldn't let her apologize for it. Autumn frowned at Axel's comment. "Is that another way of asking if you should be worried?" Conner reacted quick, apparently they were used to mock each other that way. Autumn felt her cheeks burning up again. The calm feeling had left her now she wasn't concentrating on magic anymore. But instead of paying too much attention to it, she just rolled her eyes and looked at the student who were leaving the dungeon. Some of them waved goodbye to Axel.

"It's more fun than I thought it would be." Besides her back still hurting it wasn't bad. Most of the students were nice and really tried their best, they weren't just fooling around. And it was nice to use her knowlegde of charms. She got her robe and put it over her arm. "And I think we've got an exceptional teacher." And by that she did mean Axel, not professor Flitwick. Who was a very intelligent professor, but she wouldn't call him exceptional. "Maybe I'll come back next time. I mean, I'm not giving up until I've won from you." Which could be too big of a challenge for her, but she was nevertheless going to try.

"Could you walk me back to the common room?" She'd already disliked walking in the dungeons before the meeting. She once ran into some Slytherin students in the dungeons late one evening, who tried to play an evil prank on her. Since then she never went there by herself. She hadn't specifically asked Axel or Conner, but she kept looking at the first one. Not that she would mind if Conner walked her, maybe the three of them would all go together, but she wanted Axel to herself for a moment. Not for anything other than just to talk to him. She'd always heard stories about him, mostly from all the girls he dated, but he didn't seem that bad. Would he really be different? And she still was curious about what he wanted to tell her about his family. He told her he was going to explain, but they mostly saw each other when they were surrounded with other people.

 

[Slaybian]

He had a goofy grin on his face as Conners retort bit back. He was glad to hear that Autumn was having a good enough time. She had surprised him today, she was brave and was one of the faster new attendees to the club. He almost blushed when she said that their teacher was exceptional. Instead he resorted to his goofy grin and running a hand through his hair. "If you intend to beat me you are gonna need to really dedicate yourself. Poor Conner here hasn't gotten one on me since the beginning of year six. So definitely come by next time. Maybe you could get some extra tutelage." He said suggestively.

When she asked if one of them could walk them back to the common room he glanced over at Conner who had an evil smile. "Sorry Autumn, I have to go meet up with Stacy in the potions dungeon, she needed a little extra help with her homework. Axel nearly laughed, he knew for a fact Stacy was at Gobstones. He rolled his eyes subtly at Conner as he flashed them a grin while exiting the room. It was just him and Autumn in the large room, and the air felt thick for some reason. "Well I would be delighted to take you back." Axel said while grabbing his cloak, leaving it off and stretching a bit. "Unless of course you like to stay in my dungeon for another round or two with me. I can go all night personally." He said laughing at his own stupid jokes before exiting the room.

He studied her as she walked, as inconspicuously as possible. Her frame wasn't frail by any means, but compared to him she seemed as delicate and light as a feather. His own calloused hands were a stark contrast to her soft ones. She was rather pretty in his opinion, and he figured she had probably had a few boyfriends before. He was curious, but didn't want to go the obvious or cliche route of just asking what kind of guys she liked. He was pretty sure she found him attractive, but she didn't strike him the type to just go for someone based on that alone. As they walked down a relatively abandoned hallway he spoke up. "So, you get nervous in the dungeons i'm guessing. Body language and all." He said with a wave of his hand. "Bad experience with an ex or something? Or is it just because it puts you closer to the snake pit. I know a few of my exes were snakes and I always feel super exposed down there until I get to the dueling dungeon." He bumped into her as they turned the corner, which was far too narrow. He looked down at her face and grinned while still looking at her inquisitively.

 

[xLotte]

Autumn followed Conner with her eyes when he left the room. Wasn't Stacey at her game? She heard her talking about it that day. Not that she minded, she wanted to be alone with Axel. But it became more and more obvious that she wasn't the only one who wanted that. But she realised she had to be careful. People had told her she was a pretty girl, guys had tried to flirt with her before. But she wasn't the type to just date for a bit and then be put aside again, and if she believed the stories, Axel was the kind of guy who did that to girls. But for the moment she did enjoy his attention and his comments, and she didn't want to focus on anything else besides that. "Is that an invitation for some extra tutoring?"

She followed him out of the room, rolling her eyes after his joke. He was quite sure of himself, but she could see he had lots of practice and would be practically unbeatable. Would he win from someone like professor Lupin? She would really love to see them duel once. Autumn walked closer to Axel than maybe was necessary, even though the corridor was narrow. When he bumped into her she could almost feel a little shock going through her body, she now felt even more aware of him. She looked up at him, slowly creating a bit more distance between them again while they continued to walk. "I once got attacked - or well, pranked is what they call it, down here. By some Slytherins." Bad experience with an ex? He probably didn't know her experience on that level was pretty much next to nothing compared to his. Being on three dates with a guy she barely felt attracted to and who she tried to avoid kissing was not much experience.

"They eh- tied me up. And then attached me to the ceiling with a spell, hanging upside down." She felt even more uncomfortable talking about it, she didn't want to seem weak. "But it happend last year and most of those guys left Hogwarts already." Without realising she started walking closer to Axel again. Talking about what happend made it her even more scared it would happen again, even though she was quite sure not many would try anything with Axel. His reputation wasn't all about the girls he dated, almost everyone in the school knew he was the leader of the duelling club. She shivered, but then shook her head. "I'm sorry, you probably don't want to hear such stories." She tried to smile, but it looked a bit weak. Hogwarts had always felt like her home, but sometimes she couldn't understand why people would act in a certain way. Playing a prank could be fun, but sometimes people went too far. And it did make her feel unsafe from time to time.

 

[Slaybian]

At first Axel had thought he had entirely misread the situation. As she backed up and her features visibly tightened he could tell the memory of whatever happened was something she hated recalling. As she told her story he was slightly relieved it wasn't him that made her uncomfortable, but rather what had happened. That momentary relief was dispelled immediately as her words sunk into him. She had been attacked. She approached him slightly, he could tell her nerves were rising as she told her story. His first instinct was to bring her into his arms and console her, but considering her trauma had come from being attacked by guys he shouldn't suddenly touch her. Instead he slowly stopped walking and grabbed her hand, giving her plentiful opportunity to pull away so she didn't feel threatened.

He looked Autumn in her eyes, his own burning with anger and sympathy. "Friends... let friends talk about their problems. I am honored you would share such a personal memory with me. Don't ever think I don't want to talk to you about something, even if that something isn't pleasant. I don't know what I can say to make it better, or if there's anything I could say to do that, but on the name of the House of Grant I swear I will do everything in my power to never let that happen to you again. Nobody should feel unsafe because of their peers." He said, holding her hand slightly tighter and giving her a passionate look. Axel didn't have much experience with situations like this, so he hoped that what he had said was comforting at the very least. He tilted his head and smiled. "I will vicariously extend that offer to you from Conner and Stacy as well. I daresay between the three of us if anyone did want to hurt you theyd have a difficult to impossible time doing so." He resumed walking, this time at a quicker pace, until they got out of the dungeons.

When they crested the stairs that led into the castles grand entrance he slowed back down. He gave her another look and ran a hand nervously through his hair. "Well... you shared something quite personal. I guess I owe you the same. I will answer any question you ask with one hundred percent honesty!" He proclaimed while grinning at her. In honesty he felt much better now that they were out of the dungeons, and could tell based on Autumns body language she felt the same. She had shared something personal, and quite heavy in nature. He felt as if he should give her this as well.

 

[xLotte]

Autumn wasn't sure what to do when Axel took her hand. She could feel it was ment to console her, make her feel comfortable. But she still felt uncomfortable talking about this serious stuff with him. She always disliked talking about herself, she liked to focus on someone else. Her friends had mentioned on multiple occassions she was a great listener, but not a good sharer. "I don't think there is anything you can do to make me feel better about it, I just try to forget it and move on. But sometimes.." She shrugged. "I try to avoid the dungeons as much as I can." But that wasn't always possible. She had to go there for some of the classes and if she wanted to continue the duelling club, there was another reason she would have to go down there. As long as she could find someone to walk with, she would be fine though. She let go of his hand when they continued walking, noticing she wouldn't have minded if she could have hold on to it a little longer.

It seemed like she could breath a little better when they left the dungeons. Only now she realised how much tension she had built up in her body. She let out a deep sigh and tried to relax a little. Axel his grinning made her smile again. "There are a millions questions I would like to ask you." She confessed. "But it's not like you have to answer any of them just because I told you something personal, that was just my choice." She tilted her head a bit, looking at him sidewards. If she would have to be honest, she was curious about some things. For example why he was spending so much of his attention on her. But she wasn't going to waste her question on such a silly thing, he probably wouldn't be able to take her serious anymore after that. "I really, really don't want to make you feel like you have to answer this. And if it's none of my business just tell me and I'll never talk about it again." She took some quick steps so she stood in front of him and then stopped walking, so she could look at him directly. "But is there something wrong with your other brother? Did something bad happen to him?" Axel had told her about two of his brothers, but as soon as he started about the third something had changed.

"And once again, you don't owe me anything. You don't have to answer if you don't want to, I just noticed it bothered you." She felt slightly nervous about asking him that question, as she was fiddling with her sleeve. Her eyes were still on his face, trying to read him. It was like Axel could see everything about her in her body language, but she wasn't so advanced in reading people. For some part she already felt sorry for asking him. Last time he said anything about his family his mood had changed, while she liked to see him grinning and smiling. Maybe it had been better if she'd say something silly or flirtateous, at least then he would have laughed at her.

 

[Slaybian]

Axel's grin slid off his face slowly and rested in a sort of sad smile. "Nah, I should tell you. If you and I are gonna keep talking I owe it to you. I sorta have an involuntary reaction whenever Vince comes up, and it would probably drive you nuts if I never told you why huh?" He said with his small grin returning. He took a deep breathe and looked her into the eyes. "I am guessing you want the long version, but the short of it is, my third brother Vincent killed my mother five years ago in cold blood." He said, the weight of what he said showing visibly on his face. He wished he could take away the heaviness his chest felt as he said it, but it never faded no matter how many times he was confronted with the reality of it. It shook him every single time.

"Well, where to begin. My whole family is Ravenclaw besides me, and so they all have been super inquisitive. All my brothers and my father honed in on their passions with a fervor I can only muster up when dueling is the subject. Vincent was very taken with the concept of magical power. He devoted his whole student years to studying why certain wizards are naturally better than others. He toyed with different answers, and never got the correct one. He had thesis after thesis, and got accepted into the department of mysteries due to his research. It was after that when he got extremely distant. He stopped showing up for holidays, birthdays, or really anything. The most he would do would be send a letter on Christmas, but one year he let us know he would be visiting for Christmas. We were all so happy. I guess he found the answer to his question. The answer was quite simple in that there was no answer. Apparently magical power is a lot like your hair or your eyes or your height. Its parental. Strong parents increase the likelihood of a strong child. Doesn't mean it will always turn out like that. I don't know, the day before he went berserk he talked about some muggle thing called genetics and said they were similar but not the same. So apparently, its random but influenced by your parents. This is fine and all but I guess... I guess someone convinced him or he convinced himself that purebloods were superior therefore. Normal people know how bullshit that is, but Vince thought it was the science of magic and irrefutable." He spat the last part, his shoulders stiffening and his hands balling into a fist.

"So Vincent decided that he would give the family a Christmas present. He would purify the family." Axel said with a tear welling in his eyes. "My mom was a muggleborn. And we woke up Christmas morning to him over her dead body. Sitting on the couch like it was a normal day. My mums body at his feet. He SMILED. THE MOTHERFUCKER SMILED AND SAID MERRY CHRISTMAS LIKE HE HAD GIVEN US THE BEST PRESENT EVER!" Axel was shouting before he could stop himself. His wand sparked with rage in his pocket, his magic pulling him towards it to let loose and give himself an outlet. He looked at Autumn and immediately deflated. "Bastard got away too. He beat Daniel and Alric like it was nothing. Dad couldn't move a muscle. He was in shock." Axel said with a whimper. "I tried to fight him. It was halfway through second year so I never stood a chance. He tossed me aside and gave some stupid speech about how ungrateful we were, before dissapparating. Thats why I do dueling. Thats why I pushed myself this far, and thats why I need to get so good nobody can stop me." He said and looked at Autumn, half in determination and half in anguish. "Because when I see him I have to win. I have to kill him." He said, tears streaming down his cheeks.

 

[xLotte]

Autumn expected that Axel was going to give her an serious answer, but she prepared for something like Vincent being a death eather and bringing shame to the family. She didn't even knew his mother had died, and certainly not in the most horrible way possible. It hurted a bit seeing Axel like that, seeing him cry, being so angry. It was almost unimaginable what he had been through.

She felt the urge to take a step backwards when he started shouting, but instead she took a step closer. You could see the rage radiating from his body, something that normally would have scared her. She pulled her sleeve over her hand and softly wiped away his tears, even though for every tear she wiped away, another one appeared. She couldn't understand Vincent actions, his way of thinking. But at the same time she knew he wasn't the only one who thought like that. Who blamed his parents for not being a pureblood, or getting mixed up with a muggle born. How could Vincent and Axel even be brothers? She never heard or seen that Axel cared about someone being muggle born, he treated them the same. She couldn't imagine them looking alike even the tiniest bit.

"I'm so sorry, Axel." She looked up at him and then put her arms around his waist. She hugged her friends all the time, but barely any guys. But now words wouldn't be enough, there was nothing she could say that would match up with what he had been through. So she resorted to pshysical contact, trying to show her compassion that way. She hugged him pretty tight, but not for long. She wasn't sure if he would even appreciate her gesture. When she let go, she didn't increase the distance between them. She put her hand on one of his cheeks, still feeling wet from his tears. Nothing she did was ment flirtateous, it was how she would have comforted any friend. "I'm really sorry you had to go such an awful thing. Nobody deserves that, but certainly not you." And awful didn't even cover it, not even close. But there were no words to cover that horrific event.

"Do you sometimes talk to people about it? Your friends, or your dad?" Axel didn't seem like a very open person, not someone to share all his thoughts with others. He appeared to be this funny guy that only cared about girls and duelling, not someone who had this much on his plate. "If you ever feel the need to talk about your mom or Vincent, about anything. Come and find me, okay? There's no need to keep it all inside, I can listen. Or distract you. Whatever you need." She was the one her friends came to when they needed to talk about something, but it had never been that serious. It was mostly talk about getting bullied, broken hearts or too much homework.

 

[Slaybian]

Axel was just short of sobbing when her arms around him finally registered. He was almost shocked at the touch. For all his time spent in intimate ways with females he never really got meaningful contact. He felt his anger and sadness ebb away as he simply allowed himself to feel comfortable. He looked down at her face. It was so full of concern and understanding. He gripped onto her and held her close, hoping she would just let him stand there and be held for a minute. Eventually he let go and looked at her again. He gave her the most genuine smile he had ever given. "Nah... we are a bunch if guys and my brothers were off doing their own thing by the time it all happened. It was just me and Dad. To be frank, I don't think dad will ever get over it. Anytime it comes up he just gets silent and goes to his room." Axel said as he detatched himself from her. He felt colder without her in his arms.

"Hey... uh... thanks. I really REALLY appreciate this. You Stacy and Conner are the only ones who know about that. Not that I think you'd tell, but if you could keep that to yourself or them that d save me a lot of trouble." He grabbed her hand as they continued to walk, the common room just up ahead. "Also, I might just take you up on one of those offers. It'd be nice to have someone to confide in. No offense to them but after Stacy and Con started dating in fifth year they sorta started telling each other their issues and not really being as emotionally available to me considering anything I said to one would inevitably be said to the other. Guess that just sorta happens when you are in love though. You share things." Axel said as they got to the portrait.

Before he opened the door he turned to face her with his body. "I'd like to offer the same thing for you. If you need me just call. For anything at all. Especially if its for a distraction. I am pretty good at that." He said with a laugh, finally feeling himself going back to his normal state of mind. "And then we can work on that adventurous side of you that you said you wanted to unlock more on the train." He added as he said the password to reveal a pretty packed common room. Many students were talking about the choosing of the champions that would be happening tomorrow, and some were even putting bets on who would be chosen. He heard his name tossed around and silently hoped that those people would get their winnings come the following night. He wanted to show the world what he could do.

He looked at Autumn again and felt the urge to pull her into his arms again. She was incredible in his mind. Brave enough to stand up to him when she knew she was at a disadvantage. Caring and compassionate, and seemed to not mind his presence. Her eyes were amazing as well. Her hazel eyes were a sharp contrast to his families signature blue. They were warm and inviting. He hoped that his weren't the cold, sharp, and calculating that he saw when he looked into the mirror or his fathers. "Tu es Belle." He whispered. He didn't know french, but his father had said it to his mother many many times, and he felt inclined to say it for whatever reason. He shook his head out of his self induced daze. "Well uh, you headed to bed? i might do some homework or something."

 

[xLotte]

Autumn looked at their hands, holding each other. It felt weird, but in a good way. She was distracted by it, barely nodding to Axel's question if she could keep it to herself. It was not like she was planning on telling anyone, that wasn't her place. She just kept looking at their hands. "Yeah, I guess it's normal for them to share everything." She agreed mumbling. Now Axel had calmed down, her focus on him shifted back to her own thoughts and feelings. His hand felt strong, like she would imagine his whole body to feel. He could probably lift her with just one hand.

"I'll keep that in mind. Certainly for the distractions." She finally managed to take her eyes of their hands and looked at Axel's face again. "You're probably the perfect person to get that adventurous side showing." She laughed softly. Axel changed moods pretty easy, it seemed like he was completely back to his old self again. She did wonder if he had mourned his mother in the right way, if he didn't went straight to revenge. And even though it looked like he trusted her, she guessed he wouldn't appreciate it if she asked him that. Maybe she could try to get him to open up about it more, to see if he could work through some things. If Vincent had been able to beat all three of his brothers, he had to be strong. Would Axel even stand a chance? That was something she didn't want to think about. Vincent had already killed their mother, he wouldn't back down from killing anyone else. Even if they were pure blood and his family. She shook her head as a sign for her own thoughts to stop.

Autumn blinked a couple times when she heard Axel speaking French. Her French wasn't that excellent, but she could understand some. Was he saying it to her? "Are you calling me beautiful?" Her voice sounded suprised. She realised she was speaking louder than she ment to, since someone turned around to see them when she spoke. It was Stacy, looking at them with a frown. She quickly let go of Axel's hand, as if she was doing something wrong by holding it. She felt the sudden urge to walk away, feeling how Stacy was staring at them. "I eh- yeah." It was like she was never going to get her blush under control, now her face was once again turning deeply red. "I'm going to bed, I'll see you tomorrow." She turned around, ready to walk away, but changed her mind after the first step. She turned back around and laid her hand down on his arm. "Just remember you're not alone, okay? So don't try to do stuff alone." With her thumb she stroked his arm, trying to ignore the penetrating look from Stacy. "Goodnight Axel." And with that, she turned around and walked up the stairs to her dorm.

 

[Slaybian]

Axel walked up to his bed with a very goofy looking grin on his face. He was incredibly drained but satisfied. He had told someone his deepest secret and she had not only not rejected his pain, but embraced it and accepted him. He walked into the room and ignored Conner when he eventually brought up the fact that he appeared so giddy. It took Conner throwing a book at his bed to get him to pay him any attention. "What?" Axel asked incredulously. "You is what. What happened? You look like a cat that got the canary. If I had to guess i'd say you and Autumn found a nice broom closet but you never smiled like this in the past. And I don't take her to be the type to be honest. So what gives?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. Axel debated telling him everything but instead decided some of it was his and Autumns business, not his. "Well, Autumn joined the club of people who know my messed up family life. And she didn't run for the hills. I even told her I wanted to kill him. Usually that would send someone off, but she appeared to be... sympathetic." He said, dancing around the subject slightly.

Conner stared at him for a long while and finally grinned. "Oh man... you've got it bad. Man I thought youd never have a serious desire for a woman until after we got outa school. I owe Stacy some Galleons. Don't you even deny it." He said as Axel had shot up from his bed ready to protest. "You've got it bad, I saw that look every day in the mirror the first week I asked Stacy out to Hogsmead." Axel shrugged and sighed, laying back down into his bed. "Believe what you wish, Con." Conner simply laughed and shook his head before pulling the curtains closed on his bed. Axel sat awake that night, mulling his best friends words over. Sure it was possible, but he didn't like her that way. Sure she was attractive and funny but Axel wasn't the type for a serious relationship... right?

Axel woke up the next morning with a slight headache. He drank a cold glass of water to clear it and almost jumped when he realized that today was the day the champions would be chosen. It was Friday, so he had a few classes, but he could sleep or skip those so he could get some training in to burn off this excited energy. No way could he focus in class with that looming around the corner. He was sure he wouldn't be the only one to feel this way. He dressed quickly for his run and almost sprinted through the grounds, excitedly smiling the whole time. Regardless of the outcome, something this cool definitely garnered his full attention. He got back to the common room before most people had woken up and quickly showered and dressed. It took far more self control than he would've liked to admit to not got to breakfast without his friends.

 

[xLotte]

Autumn was worried she wouldn't be able to sleep, as she was worrying about what Axel had told her. She wasn't sure if she had taken him seriously when he told her he was going to kill his brother, maybe she just thought it was something he wished he could do. But what if he really meant it? What if he was actually planning on doing it? She changed into her pyjamas, ready for a night of worrying. But as soon as her head hit the pillow, she'd fallen asleep.

Ofcourse it was Maren again who woke her up. She was sitting on the side of the bed. "Shall we just skip our classes today?" Her friend suggested. "I'm way too excited and I really don't want to let professor Snape his face ruin that." Autumn couldn't help but giggle at that excuse as she got up, slightly shaking her head. "Ah come on, please? I can't go skipping classes on my own, I need your back up!" They wouldn't be the only one, she knew that. But she wasn't the kind of girl that skipped classes, she'd only just do it once in her entire Hogwarts career. And she had felt incredibly guilty about it. "You don't need me, silly. there'll be plenty of others not going." And with those words she dissapeared into the bathroom, taking a shower and changing into her standard clothing. Sometimes it would get a little boring, always wearing the same clothes. But it did save her time. In the weekends it took her forever to get ready.

As soon as she was done Maren and her walked to the Great Hall together. Maren hadn't given up on trying to convince Autumn to skip their classes, she kept going on about it when Luna joined them for breakfast. "So who do you think our Hogwarts champions will be?" Luna interrupted Maren as if she didn't notice that she was talking, but Autumn was glad for it. Sometimes Maren could really bite her teeth into something and just wouldn't let go, no matter what someone's answer was. "I think that at least one Gryffindor will be chosen. Maybe someone like.. Axel?" She could see him being a champion, and he would really make a chance in winning the whole tournament. Luna shook her head. "No, I think it's going to be you." She said, which landed a smile on Autumn's face. "To be honest I hope it won't be me." She grabbed some breakfast and took a bite out of a croissant.

 

[Slaybian]

Axel walked into the great hall with Stacy and Conner in tow and nearly ran over to where Autumn and her friends were eating. He had thought about maybe pulling a prank or something mild on the trio of girls but decided against it. He didn't know the silver blonde haired one in their group except that she had a small reputation of being 'loony'. Axel knew how rumors could be twisted and make one out to be something they weren't. He would rather not any of his actions be misconstrued as him bullying the Loony one. He both had no desire to be cruel or have Autumn believe him to be some sort of ponce to people who were already picked on.

"Good morning ladies, you all look lovely this morning." He said with a wink as he slid onto the opposite side of the table and filled his plate with a simple rice and greek yogurt breakfast. "I have to say I slept quite wonderfully. Something about last night just made me giddy. Hopefully such a good mood will persist into the night when my name pops out of that flame up there." He said gesturing to the cup. "To be honest there's no way that I can focus with all this excitement. Might take the day to go work out. Or maybe I will go pick a fight with some Slytherins who knows." He said with his aloof mask slipping on for a brief moment. It was hard when he was in the presence of people besides Conner, Tracy, and now Autumn to act his true self. He gave the grounds a look through the large windows on the side of the hall. "Weather isn't bad at all." He mused to himself as Tracy and Conner had taken their seats beside him. Conner wiggled his eyebrows knowingly at him as he sat down, glancing at Autumn.

Axel rolled his eyes and went back to giving the others at the table his attention. He looked past them for the briefest moments and saw Tamara and a few other Slytherins in their year whispering excitedly, presumably about the coming nights events. He caught her eyes and she seemed to look at him with a mixture of surprise and... embarrassment? The usual contempt in her eyes was gone. He guessed she had been impacted by the dueling clubs activities in a way that at least made her respect him somewhat more. At least, that's what he hoped. "You know as much as I want to be one of the champions, I think I would give it up in a heartbeat if it ensured no snakes got to represent our school." He said almost to himself.

 

[xLotte]

Autumn felt a weird feeling in her stomach when she saw Axel approaching them, one she couldn't really describe. She smiled almost carefully, not knowing why she felt so.. weird. She shifted a bit, looked down to her breakfast and ignored his comment about their looks. From the corner of her eye she saw Maren lift up and smile brighter than she usually did. Autumn couldn't deny this was making her feel a bit annoyed. She loved her friend, but she was being way too obvious about her crush on Axel.

"Or you could just go to class." Why was everyone so persistent about skipping classes? It was not like the professors would just let it go because of the announcement that night. There would still be consequences to skipping class. A sudden smile appeared on her face. "I would like to have you there. We got Defence Against the Dark Arts together, right? Maybe you could help me a bit? I've had some trouble with it and could use someone next to me to help me. And with your duelling skills, it must be pretty easy for you." She wasn't sure why she was asking, was it to see if Axel would do this for her? Or did she want him to stay out of trouble? "In exchange I'll skip potions and do whatever you want." She hoped he would know she wasn't the kind of person to play a prank on someone, but on the other side.. he did tell her he could get her out of her comfortzone, and maybe playing a prank on someone would be the perfect oppertunity for that.

She took one last bite of her breakfast and then got up again. Luna was staring at her, maybe even frowning a bit. Was it too much she suggested to skip a class? Even Conner was staring at her, but he had a smirk on his face. She raised an eyebrow looking at him, but he just winked as a response. "Hope to see you guys in class then." And with that she mostly looked at Axel. Of course she enjoyed having the other ones around as well, she would love to hang around with them more. But at the moment she was a little bit more focused on Axel. She smiled to all of them and then turned around to walk away, leaving the Great Hall.

She didn't feel like she would really mind if Axel wouldn't join her, but she really believed he could help her with Defence Against the Dark Arts. After leaving the Great Hall, she walked back to her dorm to get her books for the upcoming classes.

 

[Slaybian]

Axels smile faltered as Maren and Autumn seemed to be slightly passive aggressive when he brought up the idea of skipping class. He nodded and reformed his smile at the mention of Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was one of the few classes he found engaging enough to hold his attention. Charms was incredibly easy for him, so while he enjoyed the subject he got bored easily. Defense was a fluid enough concept and study that even if he was adept at protecting himself there was always something new and interesting to throw himself into. "Yeah, I would love to come to Defense if it means I can help out." He got extremely happy at her offer to skip potions and do whatever he wanted. He debated teasing her but decided against it... for now.

His eyes barely left her until her body disappeared behind the doors to the great hall. She was a very attractive witch from that angle, he decided to himself with a crooked grin. He turned back to the table and shrugged. "Well I won't be attending any classes but Defense today it seems. Lets get a few rounds in Con. Stacy of course you are welcome to join us." He said, knowing she wouldn't skip her classes either. "No, and Conner will not be joining you either, he needs to be a good boy for his NEWT year." She said and pushed Conner out of the bench so they could walk to their first class of the day. Axel felt his enthusiasm take a slight dip. He excused himself from the table, politely turning down any offers from classmates to do something. He walked down to the dungeons at a quick pace, eager to start his work out. He got to the dueling chamber and quickly began making the dummies attack him at varying speeds.

After a while Axel felt a weird feeling of being watched before whipping around to see Tamara at the door, eyeing him. Axel quickly went into a defensive stance, expecting her and whoever else she may have brought with her to attack him at any moment. "What do you want, Tamara." He said with a slight edge. Tamara walked in and revealed that there was nobody with her. She sat down in one of the chairs that was against a wall. "I wanted to watch the master at his work. After yesterday I was... surprised. I always thought that a pure-blood Gryffindor couldn't understand power and seek it vehemently. Yet... here you are. The best fighter in the school. It's very Slytherin of you to have chased power the way you have. I am intrigued." She said with a smirk. He felt as if she was measuring him up with every movement of her eyes. Axel wondered if this is what it felt like to be under his own calculating gaze. She stood up and walked towards him slowly. "You are a nuisance to all when you are in class, but I am guessing that you aren't exactly how you portray yourself to be, am I right? That carefree attitude seems to melt away in this room as quickly as you dispatched me and the others yesterday. I know from a few of my classmates that you have experience in other capacities as well. Whenever my friends talk about you its always about how rude you are, unless its in a broom closet. You must have a weakness for women." She said as she reached him. Axel knew where this was going. A year ago, or maybe even before the train ride to Hogwarts this would've been a great situation. But now, Axel had a desire that was far more focused. He didn't want just anyone anymore. He knew it. He had no clue what or why, but it was true.

"I am flattered, but no. If you want me to teach you dueling you can request some one on one sessions with me through Flitwick." He said dismissively, almost callously. He grabbed his robes and went to the door quickly, leaving a shocked Tamara behind him. She seemed to sober up and frowned at him. "You... surprise me. Its that new girl you've been sitting with at meals isn't it? Autumn right? She doesn't seem your type." She said and gave him a smirk. He rounded on her and pulled his wand into his hand. "I don't know what you are planning or what you are thinking, but I know all you snakes have a plan or scheme. If it involves her you had best revise that draft before you do it." He said with malice. He slammed the door behind him. His mood was usually happy after a good workout, but now he felt murderous. If anything happend to Autumn simply because she associated herself with him he would never forgive himself. And where did she get off saying there was something going on there anyway? 'But you didn't deny her claim' A small voice in the back of his mind said to him. He shook his head and checked the time. It was almost time for defense. He dragged himself through the school and found himself staring at the Defense rooms door. He opened it and saw he was actually the first one there, and found a seat in the dead center of the classroom.

 

[xLotte]

Maren met up with Autumn again when she was just about to leave their dorm. "What's up with you and Axel?" She didn't sound too friendly, more like she was accusing Autumn of something. Autumn shrugged, not sure what it was that she wanted to say. Was she going to tell the truth? Because the truth was that she didn't know. She felt weird around him, but at the same time enjoyed his company. She liked to just simply look at him, because he was an attractive guy to see. But that didn't cover everything. "I guess we're friends?" Her voice sounded unsure and Maren narrowed her eyes. She opened her mouth to say something back, but then she just smiled. A real sincere smile. "What?" Autumn asked confused. "I'll get over him, I guess. So don't worry about me okay?" Maren's answer brought even more confusing, and apparently her facial expression showed. Her friend started to laugh. "Like I said, don't worry about it. Now go to class, you're going to be late. I'll see you at dinner."

Autumn did leave after that, still not sure what it was that Maren was saying. Of course she was glad that her friend decided to get over Axel, since it didn't seem to get her anywhere, but what was she getting at? With a frown on her face she walked to the greenhouses for her Herbology class. It took her only a couple seconds after entering the greenhouse to clear her mind of all her worries. She smiled towards professor Sprout, who was busy with some Puffapods and was barely paying attention to her students for the moment. Just a couple students were already there, mostly Hufflepuffs. She greeted some of them she knew and then got ready for class. After her nobody showed up anymore, so it was a small group.

Herbology was one of her favorite classes. The previous years she'd helped professor Sprout multiple times to get the necessary ingredients for some potions and medicine and she had actually quite enjoyed it. Autumn decided that if she didn't get into Auror training, she would defenitely do something with herbology. At home she had multiple plants and she always left specific instructions for her parents how to take care of them. When they wrote her they even kept her updated about them. She didn't share her hobby with anybody else, besides Luna. She felt it was pretty weird and was sometimes even a bit ashamed about it.

Herbology flew by. They were teached about the Venomous Tentacula, she once had to dive away because of one of them fired a spiky spore- like ball, but luckily that was the only dangerous thing that happend. She left with a bright smile on her face, straight to Defence Against the Dark arts. She had completely forgot about the triwizard tournament, Axel and Maren's strange comment about him. But as soon as she entered the classroom, all of that came back again. She stared at Axel's back. She hated it that he made her feel this confused. And she liked it. Which made it all even more confusing. She sighed softly and walked up to him. "You promise to not try and distract me?" She asked, sitting down next to him. It was only then she saw his face, where his usual grin or smile was missing. He even seemed.. angry? She wasn't sure it was the right word for it, but he wasn't his happy self. She raised an eyebrow. "You're not mad because I convinced you to join this class, right?" She softly bumped his shoulder against his. "Because I'm actually really, really glad you're here." She was about to hug him, as she would do with any of her friends, but withheld the urge to do so. Instead she showed him sweetest smile she could put on. "And I already promised you that I'll make it up to you. So if this class starts to bore you, you can just try and think of something weird to make me do." She was actually a bit worried about him. After everything he'd told her the previous day she wasn't quite sure of what to expect from him anymore. What she was sure of, was that there was more going on in his head than he tried to show everyone.

 

[Slaybian]

As Axel stewed in his own anger he heard the door to the classroom open. He ignored it expecting it to be professor Moody. When the body who entered the classroom approached him he cast a glance and then did a double take. The tightness in his chest was relieved the second he saw Autumn. When she sat down and touched his shoulder he started to come out of his daze. "Heya Autumn. Nah its got nothing to do with you. Just some interruptions to my workout this morning. Very unwelcome ones." He said and turned his body towards her. He hatted lying to her, even if it wasn't a lie and more of a half truth. It had to do with her for sure, but it was far from her fault. He put a smile back on his face. "Oh trust me, after our class today you are gonna be out of that comfort zone if its the last thing either of us do." He said with a wink and a laugh.

He took note of how much more open she appeared to be since he had seen her on the train. It was only natural for one to become more comfortable around newer people with time but hers was quite a change indeed. There were some reservations still no doubt, whenever rule breaking or more flirtatious subjects came up she still tended to either object or blush, but perhaps he could hit two birds with one stone after class. He heard the door open and a steady stream of students started to walk in and seat themselves. A buzz of conversation started to overtake the room. He looked at Autumn and gauged her body. "You seem excitedly nervous. Is it cause hes an ex Auror?" He asked with a head tilt. "I heard from some of the other students its the eyeball, seems to make some of the more squeamish students upset. Personally I only know about him from my brothers stories. They've only worked together once but apparently the guy is like a battleaxe transfigured into a human." He said jokingly. The door slammed shut and professor Moody cam out of the room above the classroom, indicating that class was about to begin. Axel observed him calculatingly. He knew the man had a limp, but he was extraordinarily sluggish in his movements at the moment. He seemed like he had lacked sleep, almost like he was up all night doing something.

Before Axel could ponder it more he told them to read chapter three then practice nonverbal casting of the bombardment charm. Axel almost deflated in his seat. He was looking forward to an interesting class but both tasks seemed monumentally easy and tedious. He opened his book to chapter three and gave Autumn a resigned smile, getting to reading. He wasn't going to distract her no matter how boring things got, he wanted to impress her and not make her re neg on her promise after all.

 

[xLotte]

Autumn shook her head. His eye was a bit weird, it seemed to roll around is it's casket a bit too much, but that wasn't what scared her. "I don't know what it is, he just seems.. he seems off somehow." He wasn't the only teacher that acted strange. Professor Lupin was another example, being a werewolf. But somehow she felt okay with that, because it was their old Headmaster who had chosen him to be their teacher. She wasn't sure Headmaster McGonagall saw the same things he did and so she felt uncomfortable around professor Moody. "And I do wonder where he got the nickname Mad-Eye." She mumbled, right before the professor entered.

There had been multiple stories going around about the professor, but Autumn had tried not to listen to them. She wanted to form her own opinion about him, but the way he looked when entering the classroom made it hard to stay open minded. He looked like he barely took care off himself. When was the last time he took a shower? She had expected an ex Auror to come up with an interesting lesson, maybe even tell them a bit about something interesting that occured in his work, but even Autumn thought it was a rather boring task. She answered Axel's smile with a frown and then sighed. She'd already read chapters one to five, but decided to open her book up anyway. They'd spent most of their sixth year doing nonverbal casting of multiple spells and even though it wasn't the easiest thing to do, she had it under control.

She reread chapter three, taking this oppertunity to study professor Moody some more. He was sitting behind his desk, fiddling with some papers, mumbling to himself. And he kept licking his lips. She wondered what he was saying, but she couldn't hear anything specific. Was he mentioning Potter? She quietly shook her head, and then turned to her book again. It didn't take long before she had finished reading it, again, and turned to Axel. He'd suprised her by actually coming to Defense and being quiet. He even seemed to be reading. "I never expected you to be this brave boy." She said jokingly, before she got up. Some other students had finished reading as well and walked towards the subjects professor Moody had laid out. She followed them. It were mostly locks, but they weren't protecting any doors.

As soon as most of the students had gathered around, professor Moody limped towards them. Autumn expected that most of the students would easily succeed in this task, but she was suprised to see that they weren't. Professor Flitwick had taught them the spell in their fourth year, so loud bangs were sounding all around her, but the non verbal part seemed harder. She saw students mumbling or heard them whispering the spell. It was easier for her. She did notice that she was almost paying more attention to if Axel was looking, than to her actual spell. Usually it wouldn't cost her too much energy, now she felt she was turning a bit red because of the work she had to put into it. Why was it suddenly so important that someone else saw how good she was? She never cared about any of that, as long as the teacher noticed. It was almost as if she wanted to impress Axel. "Stop whispering! It's a non verbal spell." Professor Moody's voice interrupted her concentration, even though he clearly wasn't talking to her. He seemed almost annoyed, looking at some of the students.

 

[Slaybian]

With great reluctance Axel walked over with Autumn and pulled his wand out. He let her go first, both so he could watch her and to be a gentleman. His eyes grazed over her form. Her brown hair laid on her shoulders, their silkiness apparent in the afternoons sun leaking through the window. She wasn't athletic by any means, but she was far from wiry. He began thinking about how easy it would be to lift her up. He stood almost a whole head and shoulders taller than her, and his broad shoulders made her look positively tiny in comparison. He wondered how they looked when others looked at them. He shook his head out of his daze. He hardly ever had such thoughts, random and unfocused, and about one of his friends. He watched as she soundlessly preformed the bombardment charm with ease. He whistled lightly and walked near her, his chest bumping into her head. As he got very close to her. He whispered to her so none could hear. "Well look at you, compared to these chumps to get it on your first try is quite good." He praised her before taking her spot and preforming it himself.

Axel was only a prodigy when his focus could be on an opponent. Static and unrealistic environments such as a classroom nullified his power, so his charm came out slightly weaker than Autumns. He turned to her and raised an eyebrow. As Moody dismissed the class he grabbed her hand and pulled her into the hall at breakneck speed. He stopped when they rounded the corner into an abandoned classroom. "So!" He said sitting on one of the tables. "I sat there like a good boy. You even did better than me! So now we get to do my thing right? Or did you need me to help you with something else?" He asked lazily letting one of his legs swing off the edge of the table. He made sure his eyes stayed on hers, as doing such a sudden and abrupt move followed by him checking her out might give the wrong impression.

"I had a few plans if you don't need my help with something. The first one is super fun, we are gonna prank a Slytherin!" He said with a face splitting grin. He stretched out across the table and felt his back pop slightly. "Second is you are gonna give me a massage because all this training leaves me tense as all hell. And magic doesn't relax your muscles even close to as well as a real hand. It has the added benefit of you getting out of the comfort zone I bet. And lastly... well I was gonna let you decide. I am rather keen to know what you would want to do with a free afternoon! Especially what you think would help you break down some of those barriers you have." He said with a devilish smirk.

 

[xLotte]

It kept suprising Autumn how easy Axel made psysical contact with her at random moments, it was something she wasn't used to. Most guys would keep at least some distance, but there was barely any space between them anymore when he stood behind her. Not that she minded, not really. But it wasn't something she would do on her own. Not while she still felt the slightest discomfort around him. "It's not my first time actually." She tilted her head, looking at Axel's try. It wasn't flawless, but neither was hers. And it was still ten times better than everyone surrounding them.

"Where are we going?" Autumn asked when Axel grabbed her hand. Right after she'd asked they entered an empty classroom, where she paused in the doorway. Was it even allowed to use or enter a classroom? She'd never done it, but she guessed it wouldn't be Axel's first time. That didn't mean it was allowed, but she still entered anyway. She sat down on the table accross from Axel and put one leg over the other, her hands resting in her lap. "No, I don't need your help with anything else. For now." Her excuse for getting him to class was his help, but she hadn't really needed it. She had expected something much tougher at Defense, she was still a bit dissapointed about it being so easy. They'd spent most of their sixth year developing their non-verbal spell skills, and even though it was still challenging for some, it wasn't for her. Not really.

"I guess I can sort of live with that first one, I'm not sure I'm gonna be much help though." Axel wanting to play a prank on a Slytherin was something she could have expected, but she wasn't really happy about it. Him telling his second plan made her burst into laughter. Not that it was particularly funny, but she felt this was even more of a challenge than the non-verbal spell. Giving him a hug, letting him hold her hand were two things she could sort of accept, secretly even enjoy. But touching him in such an intimate way? "And - what, how? Just your neck? Or you back as well? You like me to use some massage oil too?" The last question was asked with a slight hint of sarcasm in it. She shook her head. "There are enough girls probably begging for you to ask them such a thing, and you're asking the one that gets uncomfortable just thinking about it." Yes, it would definitely be outside her comfortzone. She started to regret asking him to help her out with it. She jumped up and walked towards him, standing still right before him. "But, fine. I said I would do everything you asked and so I will. But don't even dare to pull a prank on me while I'm giving you a massage, because I will get back at you ten times worse." She didn't sound too serious, there even was a playful smile on her face. She then frowned, she had to think of even more? Wasn't the massage and the prank enough? "If I survive those first two things I want to go to Hogsmeade. And you can buy me a drink as a reward." The Hogsmeade idea just popped up in her head, as she always enjoyed going there. She disliked that they were only allowed to go at certain weekends, and she certainly missed the place during her vacation. "So, what do you want to do first? I think I'm least comfortable with pulling a prank someone, so I would like to get that over with."

 

[Slaybian]

As he hopped off the table he laughed loudly. "No I don't need you to get massage oil, but good idea." He said with a laugh as he hopped down to stand over her, very close. Her eyes were alight with an excited fire, but her body gave off vibes of trepidation. The duality that existed in Autumn intrigued Axel to no end. She was soft and reserved, but seemed adamant in her attempts to be bold and outgoing. He both admired her tenacity and adored her gentleness. His breath started to quicken as his mind raced. In any other situation he might have tried something. Made a move, lifted her onto the table with him and given his all to her. But for some reason as he looked in her eyes he hesitated. He recognized it now, and finally would admit it to himself. He fancied her like no other.

Axel, for all his forays into love, had never found it. He had surrounded himself with relationships that were never serious in nature, and sated his worldly desires and occasionally some emotional connection was formed, but he never gave too much effort into making the person he was seeing a permanent aspect of his life. In short, he had a tendency to hit it and quit it. Autumn was nothing like that though. This attraction was beyond physical. He knew it wasn't anything so deep as love, but she made him feel important. That was enough for Axel to put her on his list of precious people. So with this knowledge he decided he wouldn't push for something to happen, he would let it occur organically. She was sweet, and she deserved to be treated well. He wouldn't make it to the feast tonight if Stacy heard that he had pulled her into a classroom and snogged her when she offered to do something for him.

"Hogsmeade sounds great. But first, lets find some people to prank." He said with another one of his grins. He grabbed her hand and led her out of the room, having to force himself to not whip around and embrace her before they could make it out of the room. Her hand was soft and delicate. He enjoyed how it felt in his. "So here's how its going to go. I heard that Montague got away with bullying the Ravenclaw quidditch team off the pitch during one of their practices by blackmailing the Ravenclaw captain. Since he seems to enjoy blackmail I think maybe we should get some material to do that to him right?" Axel said, steering them towards the divination tower. "All I need you to do is take this camera and take a photo of what happens okay?" He said handing her a small camera he borrowed from one of the Creevey brothers.

He waited for the Slytherins to file out of the divination classroom and waited for the trollish boy to show himself. He waited until Autumn would be out of sight but still able to get a picture before he hit Montague with an engorgement charm on his forehead. His head ballooned up to almost comical proportions, while he and his friend tried to quickly dispel it, Axel slipped back into the corridor and ran over to Autumn who was waiting at the end of it in line of sight to the prank. He grabbed her hand again and his heart soared as he ran away with her laughing as he went into another abandoned classroom. "HAHAHA, please- tell me you got that... hahaha" Axel said while laughing hysterically, trying to catch his breath. When he had calmed down some he looked at her with an appreciative look. "Oh, and if you were wondering how i can get in all these locked classrooms, its because I am a captain. All prefects and captains can access unused classrooms at will. Poor Flitwick never knew he would be handing me one of my best tools for avoiding detection during my after curfew adventures!"

 

[xLotte]

Autumn enjoyed to see Axel laugh that loud. She'd seen him with his usual grin, but this time he was laughing so hard his body was shaking. He sounded like he just came back from a long run. She looked at him, an amused expression on her face. "I thought his head was ready to explode. Or that it would lift his body in the air like a balloon." She handed him his camera back. "I managed to get a photo yes." She wasn't laughing out loud, but if you looked closely, you could almost see a bit of a sparkle in her eyes. It had been good to get back at someone, certainly someone like Montague who seemed to think he was untouchable. "What are you going to with that picture?" She leaned with her back against the wall, staring at Axel. His blue eyes, who often had this calculating look in them, now looked full of joy.

"You're cute like this." The words came over her lips at the same moment she was thinking them, without meaning to say them out loud. She wouldn't be herself if she didn't turn red when she realised what she said, and she felt her cheeks burning. But as she'd decided multiple times already, she was going to ignore her blushing. "In a completely manly way, of course." She added, knowing most guys didn't like it if they were called cute. But for a moment he almost looked care free. She broke off eye contact by staring at the wall behind him and crossed her arms. "Okay, so are we going to Hogsmeade now? I heard there are ways to get there without anyone noticing. Like secret doorways or whatever. Do you know of them? Or do you have a different idea for sneaking out?" She walked around the empty classroom, but came to a stop when she reached the desk from the professor.

"Or would you like your massage first? I'm not sure a classroom is the best place for it though. Those seats are pretty hard and not very relaxed to sit on. But I'm not doing it in the common room, people will think I'm another one of your conquests. And I still got a reputation to keep up." She laughed softly. Her reputation of being a brave girl would dissapear if people thought she'd hooked up with Axel. And even though she wanted to get rid of that reputation, she didn't want anyone to think she was easy. She walked back to Axel, this time stopping when their were just a few inches inbetween them. She looked up to him. "Not that's it bad to be one of your conquests." She kept trying to explain herself, afraid she was going to say something wrong. But more because it wouldn't represent what she was feeling and not because she was afraid of hurting his feelings. "Apparently you're very gifted in that department as well." She giggled. A real girlish sort of giggle. Her eyes widened and she quickly put her hand for her mouth, shocked to find out she could even produce such a silly sound.

 

[Slaybian]

Axel recovered from his hysterical laughter after a few good minutes. His glee at the small prank they had pulled was possibly unwarranted, but having moments like this to share with someone made it that much more fun to him. "Oh my partner in crime, I was thinking of doing something subtle, but incredibly devious with this bit of captured history." He said with a wave of the camera. "I am going to either give it to the Ravenclaw team and see what they make of it, or send it to him anonymously with some foreboding note, like 'Stop being prat or I make everyone see this!'" He said with another light laugh. He started slightly at the sudden comment on his demeanor. He had been called many things, but cute wasn't one of them. His heart skipped a beat as she glossed over it and talked about Hogsmeade. It took him a moment to regain his composure.

"Well, Hogsmeade could be next, but I was really looking forward to that massage." He said as she walked towards him. He could feel her daring aura as she got so close he could feel her slightly labored breath touch his neck. She slightly stumbled over her words as he could tell she was trying to convey herself to him. He smiled and grabbed her hand softly. "We could do it wherever you'd like. The desk might be nice, or perhaps we could find a room in Hogsmeade." He said with a teasing wink. "I would also daresay I am quite gifted in that way as well. More-so thanks to experience than raw talent. I would rather not relive my first few attempts at being a charming partner." He said with a deep, almost haughty chuckle. He leaned down slightly and got really close to her face, moving a hair out of it with his free hand. "You are welcome to sample the fruits of my experience anytime." He knew that this type of teasing might be new to her so he slowly backed off from her and made his way to the door.

"Up to you honestly, I know a few ways to get into Hogsmeade, as a matter of fact I know of one that takes you right into Honeydukes cellar. Or we can find some isolated spot of the castle sop you can run your hands across my labored and beaten muscles." He said with another teasing smirk. He had done this level of flirting before, but with Autumn it was a far more engaging experience. He found that every time he did something that her blush would come to her cheeks. It was almost something he could command, simply tease her slightly to give her already cute face a pink hue. He found it endearing and quite interesting to watch her switch between embarrassed and daring in such rapid ways.

 

[xLotte]

Autumn felt a shiver going through her spine when Axel leaned closer to her and his hand touched her cheek just slightly. They really were flirting, there was no way around it anymore for her. Something that was once again confirmed with his comment about 'sampling his fruits of experience'. Her heart was racing just thinking about it, imagining how that would be like. She was only able to calm down when Axel widened the distance between them, only now realising she'd almost stopped breathing.

"We could use the room of Requirements." Her voice sounded a bit out of breath. How could falling for someone even be healthy? She'd never felt so uncomfortable and confused, and her body was reacting on almost everything Axel did. She took a deep breath. This was Maren's thing, not hers. She'd always make fun of her friend for describing how she felt when she liked someone, and this was not something she wanted. She wanted to focus on her N.E.W.T year, have some fun with her friends. And she wanted Axel to be one of her friends, not a potential love interest. But it seemed like most part of her brain, and her body, didn't agree with that anymore.

This time she grabbed Axel's hand and left the classroom. She went up to the seventh floor. "Let's get that massage over with." She had only used the room of requirements once, when she wanted to hide from some Slytherins. Before that she'd never heard of it, but it could be the perfect place for the situation they were in. She certainly was not going to get a room in Hogsmeade as Axel suggested, that would really give him the wrong impression. When they arrived at the tapestry of Barnabas the Barny she let go of him and slowly started to walk across the hallway. She passed the area of the door three times, focusing her thoughts on what she needed. When the door appeared she doubted before actually opening it. It would be really embarassing if the room was turned into some romantic bedroom, just because her feelings for Axel where crossing her mind all the time. But when she opened it, it wasn't anything like it.

It was pretty small, in the middle of room there were two sofa's standing across from each other. Soft instrumental music was playing in the background. It would be the perfect place to read or maybe even study. "Maybe if you just take a nap here you would be just as relaxed." She entered the room, waiting for Axel to enter and close the door behind them. "You could even lay down for you massage if you want to."

 

[Slaybian]

Axel was in a slight daze as he was led to the seventh floor by Autumn, hand in hand. He decided as the wall formed into a door that one, he needed to learn more about this room, and secondly he would let her set the pace. The last thing he wanted to do was do something she wouldn't be comfortable with. He looked around the room, and noticed it seemed like a normal room. Almost like a comfy corner of the Gryffindor common room. He ran his hand along one of the sofas and smiled at Autumn. "This is such a cool room. I am guessing it doesn't only have this form right?" He said while walking over to the front of the couch and sitting down. He stretched a little and let his muscles relax. He pulled his shirt off and laid down on his stomach, giving her full access to his back.

"Look I will give it to you straight. If you just wanna read or study while i nap be my guest. I was mostly just teasing ya about the massage. If you feel ok giving me one I will be here though." He said stretching even more. He purposefully tried to expose as much of his flexibility and muscles as possible. He knew his chest and sides had a few scars from his rigorous training over the many summer with his brother. He hoped she was unconcerned by them and more intrigued. He knew some girls liked scars, and she may be one of them for all he knew, but he also knew that Autumn was an incredibly compassionate person. He looked over at her on his side and cracked his neck. "Whats the matter Fall? Enjoying the view too much?" He said with a smirk, enjoying his own wit on the play on her name. He began to grow thoughtful as he relaxed. "You know, when we get to Hogsmeade, what is it you wanna do? Ill pay. My family is well off due to my fathers forays into the Alchemical arts." He said, trying not to sound like a braggart.

He was genuinely interested in what things Autumn found amusing. If he was honest with himself, he really only knew her as a wonderfully nice and attractive witch. That was more than enough to catch his attention, but he wanted to know more about her. He tended to gloss over people, thinking he could figure a person out by their body language easily enough, but there are things the eyes are blind to. Such as interests, philosophies, and personality. He thought he had a good grasp on the third so far or he never would have thought of her in the way he did, but knowing more about the Witch who seemed to want to help him as he helped her was important to him. He was secretly now hoping he wouldn't drift off to sleep and miss the potential for a riveting and informative conversation.

 

[xLotte]

"Have you never heard of the room of requirements before?" Autumn turned towards Axel, observing how he took off his shirt. The first she noticed was how muscled he was, he definitely had to work out a lot to have to maintain it. The second thing were the scars. There weren't too many of them, but the ones he had very quite visible. She sat down on her knees next to him, making sure she positioned herself in a way so Axel wouldn't be able to see her face without having to get up. "I thought you were the kind of person that would know every hidden room or corridor in Hogwarts." She carefully put her fingers on his side, tracing one of his scars. "But yes, this room changes in whatever you need the most. I found this room after I was attacked by those Slytherins and needed a place to calm down."

A soft laugh came out of her mouth when Axel told her he had been teasing her with the massage, but she didn't get up. "And why exactly do you think you would tease me with that? Are you saying I'm too much of a prude I won't even dare to give you a massage?" Well in fact, she was a prude. This was way too intimate for her to suggest, but she felt she had to prove something. She looked down on Axel, her fingers were still on his side, but weren't doing anything anymore. Where would he have gotten those scars? She hoped they weren't from his fight with Vincent. There were different scars though, some older than others. So they couldn't be from just one fight.

She didn't even notice she was staring until Axel made another comment. Of course she blushed. Instead of answering she put both her hands on his lower back, just next to his spine, slowly making her way up to his neck while putting a bit of pressure on it. "I would really like to go to Dogweed and Deathcap. I need some plant food for my plants at home. The stuff there is much better than muggle stuff." She answered, trying to focus on the massage. Her thoughts kept going to other places, most of them involving Axel and other things they could do with him laying down. "And Honeydukes. I have a serious sweet tooth and I need to refill my stock of candy." She grinned. Most people would get nauseous if they ate too much candy, but she could keep on going. "But, I'm not letting you pay. Even though that's real sweet to offer. You could buy me a drink after, that's all I'll allow you to pay." She didn't think she had nearly as much money as Axel, her parents had nothing more than an average income. But she felt uncomfortable letting him pay for the stuff she wanted. She got up, but only so she could reposition herself. This time she put one leg on one side of Axel, and one leg on the other side, her body leaning on his lower back. While she had just complained to herself that giving a massage was way too intimate, she made it even more intimate by sitting on top of him. But she was partly doing it to prove herself to him. She continued massaging him, building up the pressure she was putting on it. "You feel really tense, maybe you should relax more."