Burn It Down [Rai]

[grey xavier slater]

The Monsters

walk among us

He wasn’t the Hogwarts champion. Grey already had mixed emotions over it. On one hand, he was kind of disappointed that he hadn’t won. The last few weeks he had started hyping himself up over it. Things had been looking up for him. A lot of the problems he had faced at the start of the year were now seemingly fixed, and he thought that becoming the champion would be the final step, the final piece of the puzzle to being the best person he could be. And yet it wasn’t going to happen. Still, he was confused on whether he liked that or not. He wanted to be the champion, to represent Hogwarts and be the one to win it all for them, but he also wanted to focus on school and everything else he needed to do. Maybe this was all for the best. Now for the other side to everything; he was more than thrilled that Anna had gotten picked for their champion. They had talked about it last month, and what they would do if one of them was chosen, and now she was. There could not have been a better decision for the Hogwarts champion. Others might disagree with him on that, but it was the truth. Hopefully she had figured out what she was going to do now that she was a champion, since that had been a popular topic when they had talked about everything that was going on with the tournament.

Grey exhaled loudly as the Gryffindor table was still in roaring excitement. Their job now was to support Anna to their fullest. The other houses were definitely going to be sore about it at first, but the Gryffindors had just become the most united group of characters in the entire Great Hall. The more he thought about who Anna now had on her side, the more he realized that almost any one of the Gryffindor seventh years, should they have entered their name, was more than capable of being the champion. The Durmstrang and Beauxbatons champions were going to have more than a handful against an entire house. The stifling noise and movement at the Gryffindor table eventually lead to Grey getting overwhelmed, and he stood up and walked a few feet away from it. He would much rather have a clear picture of everyone’s excitement over being in the middle of it. Grey had never been one to want to make memories, but this was one of those exceptions. The chance to witness was enough to satisfy him after not being the Hogwarts champion. This was what everyone had been talking about; what the tournament was really supposed to be about. He finally understood. Funny how things like that happened.

@railynn
460
The Original by Roo Panes

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Deleted]

Rai was anxiously awaiting the announcement of the Hogwarts champion. The other champions were well and good, but she was Hogwarts alumni. Therefore she was more anxious about that one. She was standing against the wall by the back door again, and leaned forward slightly as the name was called.

She found herself feeling strangely numb for a split second before pride for Hogwarts and Gryffindor as the table roared with noise and Anna started to move. Then the slight disappointment came and she found herself searching the table for Grey... then something else. Relief? She shook her head. No, why would she be relieved?

She found him right when he stood, walking away from the table. Was he upset? It was always hard to tell with him. Especially in a crowded space. She didn't even realize her feet were moving toward him until she was only feet away. Then she reached out and gently tapped his shoulder.

"Loud, isn't it?" she asked, having to step in right next to him so he'd be able to hear her over the noise.

grey xavier slater

[grey xavier slater]

The Monsters

walk among us

While the Gryffindor table roared on with excitement, Grey stood still observing. The more it sank in, the happier he was that it wasn’t him that had been chosen. Sure, he was qualified, but Anna was the true essence of a Gryffindor. He had his moments from time to time and while that was great and all, there were more important things to worry about now. He had a school newspaper to run, and he would have to establish his dominance in the school over all the outside papers and reporters that were going to be rushing the front doors of the school tomorrow morning. Classes were important as well, but he guessed that it would be a while before any of the Gryffindors would even have the thought of paying attention. The real question was whether or not they were going to sleep at all over the next few nights. He was sure there was already a party planned for the common room the minute Anna got back there, if they didn’t carry her up first.

Arms crossed now, Grey felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned to see Rai walking up from behind him. He was sure that walking over to the Gryffindor table was an automatic move for her. Even being an alumni had to have been exciting. As she stepped up next to him, she stated that it was loud. That was kind of an understatement. While the rest of the school was semi-disappointed in the fact that someone from their house wasn’t picked, there were still a few from the other houses joining in, namely other Weasleys. Everyone else had pretty much started to clear out at the orders of the professors. It was going to be a while before any of the Gryffindors left. “Just a little. Worth it though isn’t it?” He half-yelled back over the drone of “Anna” cheers that had now started. “Makes you wish you were still a student, right? Who knows, you could have been our champion, Rai.”

@railynn
341
Silver Moon by Roo Panes

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Deleted]

Rai smiled and nodded as he half-yelled that the noise was worth it. At his comments about her wishing she was still a student and that she could have been the champion, she laughed. Luckily, her natural laugh was loud enough that it could be heard. "And I would have won," she called. In reality, she was almost relieved that she wasn't around for it. She would have put her name in, of course, but she didn't really want the distraction. She loved to challenge herself, and it would have done that, but she had a great last year, despite the killings and being kidnapped... well, okay, it was a rough year. She regretted that people died, but being all that fear and being kidnapped reminded her what was important. Family and friends.

She reached her hand over just a bit, since she was standing so close she didn't have to reach far, to catch his wrist lightly. "You about ready to get out of here? Let me walk you back," she offered, raising an eyebrow at him. As much as she loved the celebration, she wanted to talk to Grey about how he really felt about not being picked. If he was discouraged, she'd try to talk him out of that. Either way, she was worried about how he was feeling.

grey xavier slater

[grey xavier slater]

The Monsters

walk among us

Grey was unsure if his laughter could be heard at all over the crowd. Rai winning the tournament? Definitely a possibility that he could see happening. The Durmstrang guy was a Greyback though, so there were some pretty high odds that he was talented, especially if he was anything like the rest of the family. He’d have to inquire how this one was related to the rest, since that was a pretty messy home life situation from what he could gleam out of his conversation over the summer with Jamie. He wasn’t one to judge though, and it seemed so far like they were handling their respective lives very well and most of the Hogwarts students were over the whole social stigma thing of the last name. The Beauxbatons kid though…there was definitely something wrong with him. Grey had heard about Émile from numerous different sources. Apparently the French boy had quite the competitive bone in him and was relentless about it too. Somehow Grey had avoided him thus far, and probably for good reason too. There was no reason to deal with someone that was annoying like him. Unfortunately, Grey would probably be the one doing the interviews for the school paper, so the inevitable was bound to happen. He kind of dreaded talking to the Beauxbatons champion now…

“Oh definitely. You’d put pretty boy and long-hair guy in their places for sure. Anna would give you a run for your money though.” Grey smirked at Rai as he said the last part. He didn’t actually know how talented Anna was. She was obviously the champion now, so that meant the goblet deemed her worthy, but whether it judged on moral or physical strength was unknown to him. Maybe it was a combination of both. Or maybe it was completely random, the selection made right at the last second before the names were announced. Thinking about this, he felt Rai grab onto his wrist and ask him if he wanted to leave the Great Hall yet. There really wasn’t much of a reason to stay any longer, especially now that some of the professors and prefects were trying to get the Gryffindors to take their party back to the common room. Like they would actually manage to move a bunch of rowdy lions easily. “Sure, why not? I don’t really intend to be around when Lily really loses her marbles over there.” He looked back to see what he assumed was a flash of her in the middle of the crowd. If she wasn’t sleeping tonight, none of them were going to be able to.

@railynn
436
Home From Home by Roo Panes

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Deleted]

Rai grinned, nodding, "oh, I'm sure Anna is going to be tough competition for anyone. Even me," she chuckled. She really believed it, though. Anna had a good support system for one and she was a talented witch. Rai had no doubt that all three champions had their own strengths, though. The Goblet liked to make this interesting, didn't it?

Grey agreed to head back, with a mention of Lily 'losing her marbles'. Rai laughed and looked over along with him at the crowd. She was sure Lily, and many others, were still in there just losing their minds. "Let me just tell them I'm heading out. One second," she released him to cross back to where some senior aurors were, letting them know that she was going to be checking out the halls and walking to the Gryffindor tower. Then she made her way back over to Grey. "All right. If you're sure you don't want jello in your hair," she laughed, acknowledging that someone at the Gryffindor table had decided to celebrate with some food throwing. But that was being shut down pretty fast.

grey xavier slater

[grey xavier slater]

The Monsters

walk among us

He smiled knowing that even Rai understood how luck Hogwarts and Gryffindor were to have their champion be Anna. Like he had already thought before, there were tons of viable champions in the school, he personally liked to believe that the Gryffindors were the best-rounded of the lot, of course, but it was starting to come to him that Anna was even better than the others that he thought could take a victory from their house. They were strong, smart, and resilient, and while a lot of people might not see that right now in their champion, they surely would in the coming months. “I can just imagine seeing you being heartbroken over not winning. It’s probably better being graduated than it is to be a seventh year right now.” He wasn’t sure if that was his way of pushing the whole thing aside, or if that was really wat he believed. Things were still a little jumbled up in his head, mixed somewhere between relief and jealousy.

Grey watched as Rai said she would be right back as she headed over to talk to the other aurors. He turned his attention back at the Gryffindor table to see it getting even more out of hand, enough so that now probably was the best time to be leaving the Great Hall. The other two schools and the rest of the houses seemed to have already figured that out and were mostly cleared out. When Rai returned, it looked like she was eager to bounce out of there before things got any worse and they needed her to do crowd control. She would definitely resonate well with the Gryffindors, hell, he was surprised that she wasn’t also in the middle of the crowd. “No, I think I’m fine. I had enough of dessert already tonight.” He motioned his head for them to start walking out of the Great Hall, and took the lead. The second he stepped out of the room it was like a wall had been put up behind him, and all sound from the still cheering Gryffindors seemed to disappear. He could almost guarantee someone had put a muffling spell up to keep them from distracting the other students. Turning back to wait for Rai, he grinned. “So…why so eager to escape all of that? Haven’t had your fill of my face lately, have you?”

@railynn
397
Dear God by Avenged Sevenfold

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Deleted]

Rai laughed and nodded, "well, in a lot of ways it's better to be graduated. Not just because of the tournament." Rai would be young and crazy forever, of course, but growing up had its advantages. Like not having homework, that was a big one. They had paperwork, of course, but it wasn't the same. Having your own place was good, too, though Rai was still in the process of looking for one. But yes, there were a lot of reasons to be excited about graduating. Rai missed her friends and her house, but this was better.

Rai grinned has he played off her comment about the dessert and started to move toward the exit with him. When they stepped out, the hall sounds were gone. Rai smiled back at Grey when he turned back toward her and stepped up beside him. "Oh, you know me and my addiction to that face of yours," she teased back. Then she shrugged, "nah, just thought you might want some air. What do you say, a detour?" her smile grew mischievous and she took off toward the stairs.

　
grey xavier slater

[grey xavier slater]

The Monsters

walk among us

It was a good sign that graduating was actually better than school. Grey had always assumed it would be; the constant struggle of going to class, doing work, and keeping up with what was expected of him. None of that had ever really appealed to him and knowing that graduating and training to be an auror was somewhat easy for someone like Rai, well that made it all the more worthwhile. Had he been a year older and was in the same position as Finn and Rai were right now he might have been a little jealous that the seventh years were able to participate in something so amazing. At the same time though, being security for the tournament would be just as thrilling, especially being the ones to stop anything…distasteful from happening to the students. It was a different way to look at everything. Right now though, he wasn’t an auror or a champion. He was Grey Slater, the seventh year Gryffindor, self-proclaimed lazy king, and editor-in-chief of the school newspaper. Somewhere amidst all those titles he was still in the thick of the tournament yet not at the same time.

“Careful, addiction is a strong word. Might make me think that you’re in love with me or something like that.” He laughed as she said he probably would have wanted air. Maybe? He hadn’t really thought about it. The common room was going to be beyond rowdy for the remainder of the night, and while he wasn’t exactly thrilled about spending hours on end celebrating, he also wanted to be there. Of course that wouldn’t happen for a little while longer, so taking Rai’s proposed detour wasn’t that bad of an idea. It wasn’t like he had a choice anyways, she had already started up the stairs. Following close behind, he looked back down at the entrance hall, wondering if Finn was down there somewhere still. He probably would have liked to join them, if he wasn’t busy chasing after that Weasley of his. “So where are we headed? Unless it’s a secret.”

@railynn
345
Already Dead by Bill Elm & Woody Jackson

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Deleted]

Rai didn't really wait for him to answer before going up the stairs, of course. That's just how she was, especially with Grey or Finn. Grey would be used to it by now, her just taking the lead when she felt like it. At his words about addiction being a strong word and the whole 'in love with me or something like that', her mind flashed back to that day she spent with Finn in Hogsmeade. When that strange image of her and Grey flashed in her mind. She shook her head, not noticing she had stopped walking for a second, and forced a smile. "Who says you shouldn't think that?" she joked, sticking her tongue out at him before continuing up the stairs.

"It could be a secret... but there aren't many places around here to get air," she chuckled, "but I have an idea," she grinned.

grey xavier slater

[grey xavier slater]

The Monsters

walk among us

He hadn’t exactly expected Rai to answer his joke about her possibly being in love with him. Of course it was responded with a sudden stop, a joke, and a tongue stuck out at him. That was typical. There was a nagging feeling though about that whole exchange. Hadn’t Finn brought something about that up over the summer? Grey had assumed Finn was double checking about it for himself, but with the news that he was actually chasing after a Weasley, it wasn’t difficult for Grey to put everything together. He had always thought that Finn and Rai’s relationship looked like it was more than friends, he had no idea that it looked like that with him and Rai as well. “I guess that explains why you’ve been all over me all these years.” He joked as they continued walking up the stairs again. “Plus, everyone loves me don’t they? The stoic, quiet, handsome lion that I am.” Grey decided to stop there. This was all in jest after all, wasn’t it? They were both making fun of it after all. And the only reason Finn had brought it up with him over the summer was because Rai had been talking a lot, and that wasn’t exactly anything new for her.

Grey figured that secrets and getting air most likely meant one of the towers, but with Rai it could mean hanging him out a window by his robes. That was if he was lucky. The one bonus for that though was that he’d definitely be closer to the common room. It was definitely better than being somewhere out on the grounds and having to walk all the way back up the stairs after traversing the entire outdoors. “After what you just said, I’m a little concerned now. You’re not planning on trapping me in a corner and snogging me are you?” Grey managed out, laughing the entire time. That would definitely be a sight to behold, and a strange one at that. “Or you know, you could be throwing me off one of the towers.”

@railynn
346
St. Jimmy by Green Day

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Deleted]

Rai shook her head and chuckled as he claimed that she has been 'all over him all these years'. Then he went on about how everyone loved him and why and she narrowed her eyes at him, scrunching her nose. "Oh, do you have a fan club now, darling?" she joked, raising a quizzical brow at him. "Shame I never got to join. I could tell them all the embarrassing stories of little first year Grey. His sweet smile and how he was always beaten up by a girl," she bit her lip holding back a laugh as they continued on.

Then he called her out on her evil grin and how her words made him nervous. But the sentence didn't end there. He went on to joke that she was going to trap him in a corner and snog him. He continued to guess that she would throw him off one of the towers, but damage was already done. The temptation to mess with him was just too strong to resist and she stopped, turned toward him, placed a hand on his chest and slammed him against the nearest wall. "And if I was?" she said slowly, her eyebrow raising again. But the joke was ruined by that image again. The one that seemed to be following her around.

She blinked and stepped back, "I mean about throwing you off the tower."


grey xavier slater

[grey xavier slater]

The Monsters

walk among us

“People finally realized how amazing I am at running the newspaper. Apparently it makes me seem smart or something.” He responded, shrugging his shoulders. A fan club would make him sound like one of the Quidditch players. If anything, the paper had made him quite a few enemies at least. Not all of their articles were about rainbows and sparkles, as much as the student body would probably enjoy that. That was boring stuff. Scandalous, newsworthy material was way more enjoyable to put out and it was only going to get better this year with the tournament. “You know, some girls find submissiveness attractive.” He grinned wryly, trying to piece that together in his head. He didn’t really know what he was like, seeing as that situation had never really presented itself. Joking about it all day was one thing. Especially when joking seemed to push Rai over and over again, even if it was all silly banter. Or so he thought.

He knew his second statement would get a response, but not quite the one that unfolded. Rai had always been physical around him, but this was to the next level. There had always been some kind of warning sign that she was about to go after him. Not this time. He’d have to blame that one on her not being around because of graduating. He was rusty. As her hand hit his chest and she shoved him up against the wall, it took a couple of seconds to register what was going on. This joke had definitely taken the serious route. He had been half-hoping to be dangled off the edge of the castle, not pushed against the wall and tortured this way. Grey stared at Rai as she said she was planning on doing that. The only thought that ran through his head was which one? The snogging? Or the throwing off the edge? He swallowed nervously, unsure of what she was actually going to do. And then she stepped back and said that she would probably throw him off the tower. Shoulders loosening up, he smirked. “So I take it you’re going to leave me hanging no matter what? I see how it is.” He wasn’t sure if that was in reference to the snogging, the tower throwing, or both, but it seemed like the snarkiest thing to say in such a strange situation.

@railynn
398
Whatsername by Green Day

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Deleted]

"Wait I'm confused," Rai mused. Is it the smart or the submissiveness that's attractive? Or both?" she chuckled. Grey with a fan club was just such an absurd idea. "I think I'd prefer a guy who held his ground... But not enough that he thought he was ever really in charge," she laughed before remembering that this was Grey was she talking to, not Finn. Her and Grey didn't talk about this kind of stuff. Granted, he wasn't too bad at it. She found herself wondering if he'd ever even kissed a girl before, realizing that she actually didn't know. Certainly he knew about that short fling she had in fourth year, right?

Rai was surprised at herself even for the way she had responded to his comment about the snogging. She saw the way he had swallowed, proving that he was just as unsure about this situation as she was. Then he spoke about leaving him hanging either way and she pulled her hand back. "I guess I just like to keep you guessing," she said, shrugging. "Now, come along. Can't waste all our time staring into one another's eyes, can we?" she turned her back to lead him once again, and that's when she finally let herself panic for a second.

grey xavier slater

[grey xavier slater]

The Monsters

walk among us

It was kind of strange that suddenly they were on this whole topic of what was and wasn’t attractive to them. That wasn’t how things normally went. They followed the standard method of Rai catching him off guard, throwing him into a headlock, dragging him off somewhere, covering him with some kind of jello-jinx, or any combination of those three. The other outcome was him making some kind of snarky, sarcastic comment to get at her nerves, and then there was either a duel or an argument of some sort and then they were all good. The start of this entire situation was like that; she had simply asked him if he was ready to leave the Great Hall and then he made the normal snarky comment, and then…well then she had pinned him up against the wall. It wasn’t really out of the realm of possibility with Rai, but the way she responded to everything was definitely different.

So much so that she apparently had to come back for more. Another perfect remark to strike another response out of her. Keep him guessing? Now that was definitely an interesting way to put it. There was no doubt in his mind now that she was going to toss him off the astronomy tower. Wouldn’t be the first time that had happened at the school either. His eyes narrowed as she mentioned that they were wasting time staring at each other. Before he could respond again though, she turned away and started walking down the corridor. She was definitely playing his game now, and there was no way she was escaping it that easily. If the end result was him getting thrown off the tower for all of it, well he could live with that. Popping off the wall, he caught up and kept pace with Rai. “You really know how to hook a young boy’s heart. Be careful what you do with that skill.” He winked at her. “Wouldn’t want Finn’s little redhead getting jealous if she saw him staring into those lovely eyes of yours.” Grey braced himself to get thrown into another wall, assuming that things could get rough again.

@railynn
362
Fly Me To The Moon by Frank Sinatra

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0