twelve drummers drumming [vi]

[Deleted]

Dustin was excited that Hogwarts finally was letting out for Christmas Break. The number of students streaming out of the school to Hogsmeade Station was significantly less than it was most years. As far as Dustin knew, practically every fourth through seventh year was staying at school for the opportunity to attend the illustrious Yule Ball. Practically every student, though, did not include Viovinnia Nott. He had made sure that his girlfriend had known, on no uncertain terms, that the two of them were going to spend their vacation together. They were running away together, in fact, though he doubted that Vinnie realized exactly how far he was going to be taking them. There was a cabin in the French Alps that he had purchased. It wasn’t particularly big, but it was a comfortable size for two people, and since it was only going to be the two of them anyways, Dustin didn’t see a point in throwing away more money on a cabin he was only going to use once (though he wouldn’t object to taking her away again). Dustin was waiting for Vi to show up, scanning the crowd for her face. He had told her to pack warm clothing and meet him on the main street of Hogsmeade, so that he could Apparate them to their destination.

@vi

[Deleted]

When Dustin had told Viovinnia to pack warm clothes, a part of her was wondering where on Earth they could be going that she needed warm clothes. Wasn't it cold enough already in England? She wasn't one to complain, however. Vi rather liked the cold and dark weather. She was even dressed warmly now, as she walked down to Hogsmeade with her luggage rolling behind her. Being of age to perform magic outside of school was proving to be a wonderful thing for Vi. The Slytherin was excited to be getting away, away from all of those extra students and their talk of a "ball." Vi rolled her eyes at the very thought of it as she entered the village. She continued walking along, searching for Dustin and then... there he was. She could feel her heartbeat speed up when she first laid her eyes on him. She wondered when and if that feeling ever went away, and silently hoped it never would. “So,” the blonde piped up with a smirk as she now stood in front of her boyfriend. “When are you going to tell me where we are going?”

@dustin

[Deleted]

Dustin didn’t know how he had failed to spot Viovinnia, but he almost didn’t see her until she was right in front of him, smirking as always. She asked when she was going to get to know where they were going, and he smiled mischievously at her. “You’ll know when we get there.” Actually, he doubted that Vinnie would be able to tell one mountain range from another when she was actually on said mountain range. It was of no consequence, though – he would tell her once they got there. Dustin wasn’t sure how Apparating with the suitcase was going to work. He had been able to take his suitcase with him when he first visited the place, but Side-Alonging both a person and a suitcase seemed difficult. “Make sure you hold on tight to that.” He said, gesturing to her suitcase. “We’re going a long way from home.” It was only a few hundred miles, but they were jumping the English Channel and also raising their elevation by a considerable amount, so they’d have to see how that whole thing went. After making sure that Vi had enough time to adjust her grip on her suitcase if need be, Dustin grabbed linked her arm through his, and whirled them away to their winter wonderland.

@vi

[Deleted]

Vi had never had anyone go through such troubles of surprising her before. It was surprisingly nice to be left in the dark as far as where they were going. Vi narrowed her eyes at the Quidditch player suspiciously as he grinned mischievously at her. “You're lucky I am patient,” she said, fighting the small curl at her lips that threatened to smile. As Dustin gestured to her suitcase, Vi grabbed a hold of it. She didn't want to lose her baggage during the Apparition, and she wasn't even sure if it was possible... but she held on regardless. So, wherever they were going was far from home? Vi could feel the excitement building within her, and it threatened to burst through her cool exterior when Dustin linked his arm through his. Vi wasn't a huge fan of Apparating. She often felt uneasy after the landing or got weird headaches, so she often tried to avoid it but with Dustin at her side it wasn't so bad. She had felt a tugging during the transportation, however, and instinctively had jerked away from it. Finally, the two of them had landed in what felt like something softer than what they had previously landed on and Vi opened her eyes to reveal an endless land of snow. The view was so breathtaking, she didn't even realize she no longer had her suitcase.

@dustin

[Deleted]

There were many personality traits that Dustin was lucky Viovinnia possessed, but he wasn’t sure patience was one of them. She liked knowing what was going on, and sometimes he humored her, but when he didn’t…well, he’d never not tell her what was going on, but he imagined the scenario wasn’t pretty. The Apparition went surprisingly smoothly, all baggage (human and not) considered, but Dustin was so surprised by the softness of the snow beneath his feet that he nearly dropped to his knees when they landed. There hadn’t been this much snow when he had visited the cabin to prepare for their getaway, and that had only been a few days ago. After regaining his land legs, Dustin turned to Vinnie. “Welcome to the French Alps.” He said, smiling broadly. “I would say it in French, but I’m not sure they want to be insulted by my French accent.” Dustin paused a moment, looking at his girlfriend. Something was off. Something was missing…

“Your bag.” Dustin said. It would have been pretty obvious if the bag had made it with them, considering they were surrounded by nothing but white. “I guess we’ll have to find some of my clothing that will fit you.” Dustin said after one last scan of the area around them. “It’ll be easier to hike through the snow without dragging that thing along, anyways.” They could levitate it, of course, but Dustin was hoping that this trip would emulate some of his favorite Muggle Christmas experiences, and any unnecessary magic seemed excessive. “The cabin’s just a few hundred meters uphill.” Dustin said, gesturing upwards. The little log cabin sat on a small plateau on the side of the mountain, so it was hard to see until you were practically on top of it, but he was sure that he was going in the right direction.

@vi

[Deleted]

Viovinnia's eyes widened visibly as Dustin finally said aloud where they were. The French Alps. The view was breathtaking, but it wasn't enough to tear Vi's ears away from Dustin's voice. “I'd sure love to hear you butcher it, though,” she said with a smug smirk. Vi couldn't speak French very while either, so she had no room to laugh but she liked it when Dustin made her laugh.

Viovinnia's eyes widened, yet again, though this time in shock. Her bag was, indeed, nowhere to be found. She would have let out a wave of expletives but the idea of having to wear Dustin's clothes... well, that kept her mouth shut. Vi was surprisingly quiet as they trekked up the hill. The view, coupled with Dustin's surprise, still had her a little breathless. (Not to mention the uphill walking in the cold didn't help.) “You're sure it's up this hill?” She teased at Dustin as they continued walking up, suddenly glad she didn't have the suitcase to keep an eye on.

@dustin

[Deleted]

Dustin rolled his eyes at Vinnie’s teasing smirk. “Maybe if you’re nice to me, I’ll try it.” He said. As far as he knew, neither of them were able to speak a language other than English with any sort of proficiency – unless you counted Bird as a language, and Dustin wasn’t sure he did. Besides, Viovinnia wouldn’t be happy if she realized that she knew something less than him, and Dustin didn’t want to get into that kind of argument, especially not on their first getaway as a couple.

“You know, now that you mention it, maybe it’s on the next mountain…” Dustin said after taking a moment to catch his breath. Maybe Apparating straight onto a mountain wasn’t the best idea – his lungs were seriously struggling to adjust, and he was in good shape from all of his Quidditch training. “Nah, I’m sure we’re almost there.” He said. “If not, we can just Apparate back to Britain or something.” Dustin didn’t know why he hadn’t had the foresight just to Apparate them straight onto the porch that was attached to the back of the cabin – that would have minimized their physical exertion and their chances of getting lost. He kept moving upwards, though, until he reached what he was pretty sure was the lip of the plateau upon which the cabin sat. Dustin peeked his head up, and was relieved to see that he hadn’t accidentally gotten himself and his girlfriend lost on a mountain. That would not be the best way to start their vacation.

@vi

[Deleted]

Viovinnia's smirk grew more wicked when Dustin said he would show her his accent if she was nice. Dustin was probably one of the very few that knew how Vi did have a little tendency to be nice, especially to those she was close to. And it just happened to be that Dustin was the person she was closest too. “We'll see,” she shrugged innocently.

When Dustin tried to make a joke about perhaps having the wrong mountain, Viovinnia narrowed her eyes at him. “You better hope this isn't the wrong one,” she said, but still managed a small chuckle. Around Dustin, Vi felt like a different person. A person her brother and her friends would probably never recognize. It was exhilarating. Slowly, after what felt like a long while of climbing, the cabin came into view. “That's... that's it?” She asked slowly. Her tone was not one of disappointment, but rather awe. Dustin had actually gotten them a cabin to stay it, all by themselves. Suddenly she realized she wanted to get inside that cabin with Dustin as soon as possible.

@dustin

[Deleted]

If this was the wrong mountain, Dustin was sure that he would never be leaving said mountain. Vinnie had her wand, and he was more than sure she was capable of performing a Killing Curse if sufficiently riled. Luckily for him, it wasn’t the wrong mountain, and they were just a handful of meters from the front door. “That’s it.” He replied with a smile and a nod. Viovinnia seemed so awestruck by the whole thing, and that pleased him more than he thought it would. Dustin had been careful to keep mum about his plans for their break, but he hadn’t actually expected Vinnie to be surprised, let alone awed by what he had managed to cobble together. Dustin slipped his fingers through his girlfriend’s, and squeezed her hand. “I have a key that we can use, if you want to go through the whole ceremonial unlocking.” Otherwise, they could just use the Alohomora spell to unlock it, which would get the job done just as well. “It’s, uh…I didn’t just rent it for the week, Vinnie. It’s mine. Ours, if you want it to be.” No one could ever say that Dustin Bainbridge moved slow, or that he did things in the right order; he hadn’t even asked the girl to marry him yet, but he had already bought her a house.

@vi

[Deleted]

That was it. That was where they were staying. Vi had expected, like a silly little girl, they would be staying somewhere beachy. When they had shown up on the mountain, she had a fancy lodge in mind. She never, in a million years, would have expected a small little cabin. She felt so silly for expecting something else, because she found she was so much happier with this outcome.

Viovinnia kept her eyes on the small cabin as she felt Dustin's hand slip into hers. Standing there on the mountain, looking at that cabin... it was a moment she really wanted to take in. She heard every word Dustin said, though, and when those words sunk in, she turned to him. Her mouth was open just the slightest bit, her eyes wide. “You... you bought it?" She repeated quietly. Vi wasn't sure why, but that gesture tug at something within her. No one had ever done something so... bold for her before. “I want to go in." She squeezed his hand, the excitement now getting the very best of her.

@dustin

[Deleted]

Not only had he surprised Vinnie by taking her to a mountain, Dustin had also surprised her by buying the cabin. He had broken his own record of how many times he had managed to surprise her – with the record being exactly zero, he was certain. “What’s the point in spending all my Saturdays on a broom if not to have money to do stupid stuff like this?” His sisters could tell Viovinnia a thing or two about Dustin’s impulse buys and splurges, especially if they were for the people he loved. And he did. Love her, that was. It occurred to Dustin that he had never actually gotten around to telling Vi that. Well, that was now on the top of his to-do list.

“Key or wand?” Dustin asked, withdrawing a small gold key from the inside of his pocket. He offered it to Vi with the hand that wasn’t holding hers. “You need to unlock the doors before going in, you know, because I’d rather not have to file an insurance claim for breaking and entering.” He said with a smirk that would rival hers.

@vi

[Deleted]

Vi, always one for teasing, wiped the look of surprise from her face. “Oh? I thought you only did it to show off," she smirked at him. Viovinnia had never been given anything like this before. Her family had, of course, given her things she had asked for when she asked for them but she felt that was different. She had never had anyone just... give her something because. Because they cared for, or because it was the nice thing to do. She loved that Dustin did. She... she was pretty sure she was falling in love with Dustin. She was pretty sure she already had fallen in love with Dustin.

The Slytherin looked down at the key that Dustin pulled out and bit her bottom lip. Anyone from her family would have chosen to just open the door with their wand. Before meeting Dustin, Viovinnia probably would have done the same thing. But here she was, holding his hand and reaching for the little gold key. "Even though breaking and entering sounds so much more fun," she said jokingly. She took the key from his hand and then headed for the door, sticking the key into the lock and turning it until the door was unlocked. Vi would be lying if she had said she wasn't nervous.

@dustin

[Deleted]

Dustin shrugged. He definitely was the kind of person who would do something extravagant to show off, but probably not this extravagant. He liked doing things for the people he cared for, but he wanted to have money to live on even after he was past his Quidditch prime. Then again, by then he’d hopefully be famous enough that he could churn out a few biographies for some pocket change, and if he did marry Viovinnia, well, the Notts had no small fortune. Of course, he wasn’t going to gamble his future on whether or not he married Vinnie. People didn’t marry their Hogwarts crushes that often…did they? People weren’t supposed to bring their Hogwarts crushes on extravagant vacations to the French Alps, either, so Dustin wasn’t sure how this whole thing was supposed to pan out.

He stood close to Vi when she was unlocking the door, definitely closer than was necessary. As soon as she opened the door, Dustin pulled them both in, smiling as the motion-sensor lights flickered to life. Dustin felt oddly like he should get on one knee to say what he was about to say, so he did, his left knee hitting the floor and sending his body into a kneeling position with one fluid motion. He looked up at her, still holding her hand. “I just wanted to let you know that I love you." Dustin blurted out before she could go getting any of the wrong ideas. “I love you a lot."

@vi

[Deleted]

Viovinnia never expected to be taking a trip away from school during the holiday with someone like Dustin. Merlin, she didn't even expect to go home during the holiday. Her parents were weirdly disappointed enough when she hadn't entered her name in the Goblet of Fire, and they would certainly be more disappointed when they found out that she had unabashedly ditched being River's date for the ball. But right now, Vi couldn't imagine being anywhere else or with anyone else. She was exactly where she wanted to be.

The Slytherin was very aware of how close Dustin was standing to her, and while that also made her nervous, it assured her of how safe she was. It was nice to feel... taken care of for once. Too often was Vi the one taking care of herself, and while she did like and prefer that sometimes, it was just nice to have someone else there for you. Dustin pulled her inside of the cabin and the lights flickered on to reveal the cozy interior of the small cabin. Vi looked around, already picturing her getaway with Dustin in the small cabin coming to life. Then, Dustin was on his knee, still holding her hand and Viovinnia's eyes widened. “What are -" She didn't even have time to raise her voice above a whisper before Dustin spoke over her.

He loved her. Dustin loved her. Viovinnia's mouth fell open slightly and she didn't let out any sort of breath. She was lost for words. She had never... no one had ever told her that before. Hell, she couldn't even remember the last time any of her own family had said that to her. Her mouth closed, quivering ever so slightly. Vi continued to look down at Dustin with wide eyes, but the slightest evidence of tears began to well up in her eyes. “I - I..." She finally let out that breath she had been holding. "I think I love you, too."

Vi didn't think. She knew she loved him. But hey, she was new to the whole "girlfriend" thing. But it was certainly something she was beginning to grow fond of.

@dustin

[Deleted]

Dustin was glad that he had gotten around to speaking so quickly, because he was sure if he had actually proposed, Viovinnia would have fainted right then and there. She looked shocked enough as it was by his admission of love, and for the first time, Dustin didn’t revel in the fact that he had surprised her. It was kind of sad, really, because he had never hidden the way he felt about her – he couldn’t hide the way he felt about her, even if he tried. The fact that she could be so shocked that he loved her…it said a lot about how many other people had said those silly little words to her over the years. She was Viovinnia Nott, who went months without seeing her brother and who was probably disobeying her parents by being here with Dustin, right now. She was Viovinnia, lost soul, and he was more than happy to let them be lost together. She was Vinnie, Dustin Bainbridge’s girlfriend, his bird song, and damn him if he didn’t love her with everything that he had.

The Gryffindor shot his girlfriend a relieved smile when she admitted that she loved him, too. She said that she thought she loved him, but Dustin wasn’t going to get hung up on technicalities – Vinnie always knew what she wanted, and he would be a fool not to see that she wanted him, and she loved him. He didn’t need her to tell him that to know it. The whole moment was ended, rather abruptly, with the loud thud of something against the roof. Dustin flinched involuntarily at the loud noise, and peered up at the ceiling. “Well, there goes my sappy love confession.” He said, awkwardly levering himself up onto his feet. “Do you want me to go grab you a change of clothes, so you’re not in those ones?” Both of their robes had been soaked by the snow, and he was certain that it would be more comfortable for them in the long run if they could change.

@vi