Bullfight [Addi]

[grey xavier slater]

December was almost upon Hogwarts. Grey had spent the majority of the day outside; what had looked like the signs of the first snowfall of the year ended up coming to fruition, tiny crystalized flakes floating down from the gray clouded sky above him. The ground was still too warm for any of it to stick. The particles had begun to melt on the ground and were starting to turn it into a muddy slush from the foot traffic. Most of the students wandering around outside like, he was, were also hoping to get some sort of glimpse of the snow. Too bad it wasn’t really amounting to anything that amazing. He had been hoping to at least sit outside and let it pile up on him for an hour or two. Most people thought he was crazy for doing that, but it was beyond relaxing. They could knock it all they wanted to, the sheer bliss of having snow crystals falling on oneself would never be known to them. Unfortunately, today was not the day to accomplish that task, so Grey had decided to head back inside.

The few snowflakes that had managed to collect themselves on his jacket were eviscerated, their skeletal structures dissipating the second he stepped into the entrance hall of the castle. It was rather sad to see them go, he had grown accustomed to watching them twirl around in the sky all morning. They’d be back again soon enough though. This was a precursor to the blustery winter that was more than likely going to plague Hogwarts again this year. Every year since he had started it ended up like that. Not that he was complaining.

Before he made it too far into the entrance of the castle, Grey popped off his jacket, shaking the sole survivors of the first snowfall of the year off of it. The castle was drafty enough still that leaving them on the jacket would lead to a rather soggy piece of clothing. Should he need it again later in the day, a problem could potentially present itself. Putting on a semi-wet jacket and going back outside in it was asking to get chills. He could stand the cold to a certain extent, but explicitly avoiding it in this manner appealed to him more than actively trying to freeze to death. The weather that encircled grounds of the school was rather unforgiving in the winter, not to mention the months leading up to it too.

Jacket stuffed under his arm, Grey headed towards the stairs to head back up to the Gryffindor Common Room, pausing slightly to look at the entrance to the dungeons. He had an entire day ahead of him and most of the students were still outside doing things in the snow. If it could be called that in the first place. It started as a little voice in the back of his head; pushing and prodding for him to walk down into the dungeons. At the same time, there was a competing voice, much louder too, telling him that she wasn’t going to be down there. The cold weather and approaching dry air meant she could walk around outside without being bombarded with pollen and other allergy inducing air particles. Forcing his feet to go up a few of the stairs, the quiet voice was screaming now, telling him that it was worth a shot. He hadn’t exactly planned on doing this in the first place, but if it couldn’t hurt him, then it didn’t really matter at the end of the day.

Clutching his jacket harder under his arm, Grey turned back around to face the entrance hall door, skipping the last step and turning towards the entrance to the dungeons. He had memorized the way to the Slytherin Common Room by this point. He couldn’t remember when any of that mental map making had taken place, but it was engrained into his memory now. It was going to provide itself useful today. Reaching out for the handle of the dungeon door, Grey popped it open to see someone already standing there. Not really paying much attention to who it was, he pulled the door the rest of the way open and stepped back, keeping a firm grip on the handle so the person could continue on their way without any hindrance.

@jill2

MADE BY VEL OF GS AND ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0

[Deleted]

grey xavier slater
<3

Snow was always a favorite of Addilyn's. Winter itself was not something she enjoyed, the cold was too cold and the ice that developed after snow came was not beautiful in any way, nor was the slush. However, seeing snow, especially the first snow fall of the year was amazing, and it was what Addi had been waiting for for a long time. Even when the Slater siblings were all back at home in the past, she had always waited for the first snow fall and made sure she was awake to see it. As far as Addilyn was concerned, her two siblings also enjoyed this weather.

It was fairly early, and while Addilyn wanted to bring Edmund out to see the snow before breakfast, she couldn't wake him up. Edmund needed his sleep just as much as anyone else, and Addi didn't mind some alone time. Her stomach was grumbling as she got ready, putting a pair of jeans on with her snow boots and a thick red sweater over her shirt. Addilyn threw her hair over her shoulders and left the dungeons, excitement running through her body.

As soon as Addi went to reach for the dungeon doors, they opened for her. She rose her eyebrows and turned around to see if anyone had magically done it, before turning around to see her brother, not even noticing her, but holding the door open for her to walk through. Addilyn made a confused expression and tilted her head at him, waving her hand in front of his face. "Hello Grey! Are you alright? You look to be...in a daze." Why was he down here? Was something wrong? As far as Addi could remember, Grey didn't have many Slytherin friends, so she assumed he was down here to speak with her.

[grey xavier slater]

It took a few seconds, more like half a minute if he was going to be honest with himself, to notice that there was a person waving their hand in front of his face. That was kind of a strange thing to be doing this early in the morning, especially since he was simply holding the door open for them. At most, he expected a rushed “thanks” as the person either headed for the Great Hall or outside. Food and snow was much more important than trying to get the attention of the person holding the door open for them. After a that aforementioned half a minute, or however long he stood there, eyes glazed over, Grey finally decided to focus on the rather small blonde girl waving her hand in front of his face. By this point it had clicked that the girl was his sister, and she seemed to think there was something wrong with him. A puzzled look formed on his face as he processed all of that. He was more than positive that he was fine, that was his whole reasoning for going into the dungeons in the first place, wasn’t it?

“A daze?” He repeated her words, more to himself as he still tried to figure out why she was asking him if everything was okay. Looking down at Addi, he nodded his head smiled. “I’m pretty sure I’m fine. I’m actually going to see-” Grey cut himself off right there. Was that something he wanted to divulge with her yet? That he was going to see someone in Slytherin that wasn’t her? That he was in love with Ondina Weasley? He didn’t think so, at least not yet. She would find out at the end of the month anyways, when the Yule Ball rolled around. “Nice weather out today. A little slushy though, so those boots might come in handy.” He pointed at the boots she had on. That seemed like a good diversion. Grey’s smile continued the entire time, as he hoped that it would be enough to distract her for a few seconds. If worse came to worse, he could simply play it off like he was going into the dungeons to see what she was up to. That wasn’t too out of the ordinary with siblings in different houses was it?

@jill2

MADE BY VEL OF GS AND ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0

[Deleted]

grey xavier slater
<3

Okay, there was definitely something up. This was not the Grey that Addilyn knew. He was acting incredibly weird and had no explanation for it all. Was he keeping a secret from her? It seemed that way. Especially after he ended his sentence without finishing. He was going to see who? Obviously not her, otherwise he just would've stated so. Addilyn narrowed her eyes at her older brother and crossed her arms. There was something up, and she was going to figure out what; Grey couldn't get away this easily.

As Grey pointed at her boots, Addilyn smiled sweetly. At least he could keep up a normal conversation, although it seemed as if Grey was just trying to turn her attention away from the real reason he was down here. She moved her leg around a bit as she looked down at her feet. "Yes, I do suppose it was a good choice of footwear in my opinion. I don't want my feet getting all wet." Addi tilted her head. "So Grey, would you like to go get breakfast? Or are you waiting for someone?"

[grey xavier slater]

The way she looked at him as he talked was a telltale sign that it wasn’t working. Still, Grey continued smiling away as if everything was normal. Which it was for him now. Addi wasn’t stupid, and he knew that they both knew that he had slipped up and almost said he was going into the dungeons to meet someone. Initially, he had hoped to wiggle his way out and play it off like he was looking for her, but that wasn’t going to work at this point. The critical look she gave him was enough to tell him that this wasn’t going to go away quietly without some kind of explanation.

Fidgeting slightly as Addi asked him he wanted to get breakfast, unless he was waiting for someone, Grey looked back at the dungeon door, still held open by him. It wasn’t a life or death situation if he didn’t see Ondina; he could always go later if he could manage to sneak away from his sister. Or maybe even better, she’d already be in the Great Hall. That was definitely a possibility. “No, not waiting for anyone.” He said confidently, still trying to play off the fact that he was halfway entering the dungeons when she had stepped out. Letting the door swing closed, Grey stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Breakfast then?” Turning to face the direction of the Great Hall, he started his slow march towards it, wondering how long it would take Addi to actually ask him what he was doing, rather than dodging the elephant in the room.

@jill2

MADE BY VEL OF GS AND ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0

[Deleted]

grey xavier slater
<3

The smile on his face was incredibly unnerving to Addilyn. Grey never smiled, well, rarely smiled, and even when he did it wasn't for this long. He looked partially insane. Addi couldn't help but snort at his expression, and she shook her head. This wasn't going to last very long. Generally, in her opinion, Grey always had his emotions under control and you'd usually never be able to spot them out so quickly. But as of right now, he was losing that capability and while she was concerned about what was going on, it was incredibly amusing.

As he stated he wasn't waiting for anyone, she shrugged. "Okay, sure!" The door shut behind them and Addilyn rested her thumbs on the top of her jeans as they walked to the Great Hall. "Breakfast it is." She smiled brightly at him and as they entered the hall, she walked over to a random table that didn't have too many people at it. It was still fairly early, but there was definitely a lot of students there currently. Addi plopped down in a seat and patted the table in front of her, gesturing for Grey to sit. A cup of warm coffee appeared and she slowly took a sip, peering over the top of the mug to stare at her older brother. "Who were you looking for, Grey?"

[grey xavier slater]

Following Addilyn to a nearby table, Grey prepared himself for whatever barrage of questions he was about to receive. At least it was safe to assume that was going to happen, her rather quiet demeanor so far scared him. As they sat down and Addi grabbed a coffee, he instead chose a glass of orange juice. That was an uncommon selection for him, but he had already been awake long enough that the coffee wasn’t going to have any effect on him. Then Addi asked the question. Who was he looking for? That rang through his head over and over again as he reached for a pastry on a nearby platter, taking a large bite out of it as he turned his attention back to his sister. What should he say? It was rather obvious by his reaction to seeing her that he wasn’t going down there to find her, and if he was looking for Edmund, he would have stated that already. Other than those two, Grey didn’t have a reason to go into the dungeons for Slytherins or Hufflepuffs. Quite the predicament he had placed himself in.

“I was-” He stopped, a piece of the pastry getting stuck momentarily in his mouth as he forcefully swallowed it. Clearing his throat and motioning that he was fine, Grey took a large swig of his juice before starting again, hesitating even more this time. “I was looking for Ondina Weasley.” He stated quickly, looking away from Addi again as he did so. Saying it out loud was embarrassing, even if Addi didn’t know the reason he was looking for her. Finishing the first pastry, he reached for another one, this time placing it on a plate that had appeared in front of him. “Are you always up this early? I figured I’d see Edmund around…” Hopefully that would be enough to distract her from the subject at hand. Grey didn’t even know the reason he wanted to go down and see Ondina in the first place. It was an impulse, something he felt he couldn’t ignore or avoid or it would tear him apart inside.

@jill2

MADE BY VEL OF GS AND ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0

[Deleted]

grey xavier slater
<3

Addilyn couldn't help but laugh at her brother's next reaction. As he grabbed a pastry and shoved it in his mouth, she burst out laughing. Granted, she probably should be worried but at the moment she was just confused. And just seeing Grey act so nervous and agitated was new for Addilyn. He definitely was hiding something, but even if he didn't tell her right away she was incredibly curious to see how long she could push him around for. Addi grabbed a pumpkin muffin and began eating the top of it, dunking some of it in her coffee as her older brother attempted to swallow the food in his mouth.

Then he said it...Ondina?! Ondina Weasley? What in the world was wrong with him? Her mouth fell open, the muffin falling from her hands as she stared at Grey. He himself must have been shocked at his words, because he turned away from her. Grey had never been one to be embarrassed or not want to share particular things about himself. He caught off her thoughts by quickly asking about Edmund, and Addi blinked, shaking her head. "Uh-He, well....he likes to sleep? But yes, I tend to be up pretty early." Addilyn took a long sip of her coffee, eating some more muffin and thinking before speaking. She tilted her head at him as he looked into his eyes. "What did you want to do with Ondina?"

[grey xavier slater]

It would be wrong to say he wasn’t expecting some kind of reaction out of his sister when he said he was looking for Ondina. If anything, he had figured Addi would have jumped over the table and punched him again. Grey understood the shocked expression that came across her face as she dropped the muffin she had been holding. Ondina was supposedly the one that ruled over little Theodosia, among others. Or something like that. But that had come from Edmund, and as far as Grey could tell, none of that was actually true. Ondina was far too graceful to inject herself into petty squabbles concerning the younger students. Plus those eyes…he had found it impossible to tear himself away from them. There was no possible way the innocence he saw in them could be betrayed.

Ignoring the comment about Edmund, since it seemed to not really work in the first place, the second question came as fast as the first one had and without any hesitation. Now that he said who he was looking for, it was obvious that Addi was going to want to know more. “Are you going to eat that? You’ll disappoint the house elves if you just let it sit there.” He motioned towards the one that she had dropped before continuing. “I wanted to see her.” Quick and efficient. That was the only way to respond, since that was what he had intended to do in the first place. They were going to the Yule Ball after all. He had considered telling Addi eventually but hadn’t found the right time for it yet. “We are going to the ball together, just seemed normal to go pay a visit to get details down again.” Grey started to eat the second pastry he had grabbed earlier as he finished talking.

@jill2

MADE BY VEL OF GS AND ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0

[Deleted]

grey xavier slater
<3

Addilyn looked down at the muffin, and back to Grey, an unusual expression resting on her face. "Oh of course I'm going to eat it, Grey. I just, you shocked me!" She shook her head and picked the muffin back up, slowly eating it as she thought. Thought of every possible reason that her brother wanted anything to do with Ondina. Granted, Addi never really had a run in with the girl herself but she lived near her, so she did see her often. But what she had heard about Ondina was not always good, and for some reason Addi could not imagine why her brother, sweet Grey, wanted to see Ondina Weasley.

Finally the muffin was almost gone and she slugged down her coffee. Taking a deep breath, Addilyn began putting eggs, toast and bacon on her plate as her mug of coffee filled back up. She placed in the cream and sugar, looking up at Grey and just staring at him. She took a bite of the toast, and then when her brother spoke once more, she began choking. Addilyn's eyes widened and she grabbed her goblet of water, her eyes watering. "You?! Why in the world would she want to go with you?" She finished the rest of the water and wiped at her eyes before realizing what she said. "Oh, I don't mean it like that, Grey...you're a great guy, honest."

[grey xavier slater]

It was pretty obvious that he had shocked her, anything less than dropping a muffin would have concerned him a little. The way she responded made him realize that she was still trying to process all of it. Surely he hadn’t reacted the same way to her when she told him about Edmund. Grey liked to think he kept his emotions, or lack of sometimes, in check. Addi had always been a little more forgiving when it came to showing hers. He could tell she was really mulling the whole thing over though, the long pause in their conversation as she finished the muffin and turned to get more food was enough to tell him that. Maybe it hadn’t been a good idea to say anything. This was why he kept things to himself in the first place. Whenever he told his sisters anything, it always came as a surprise and he ended up feeling like he dropped a ton of bricks on them.

But then came the second bomb to drop in a matter of minutes. Had he known the reaction Addi was going to have, he would have stopped there. Why would she put it that way? Was there something wrong with him that taking a girl to the ball, Ondina no less, was a bad thing? Some major flaw with him that she wouldn’t want to go with him even though he asked? Addi was quick to follow up that she hadn’t intended for it to be that way, but the damage was already done. He had half a mind to get up and walk away without saying anything else, something reminiscent of when she punched him in the face only a few months earlier. “You tell me. Is there something wrong with it? I asked, she said yes.” He took a sip of his juice again. “Unless I’m not good enough for her, and she’s going with me out of pity. You think that’s what it is Addi? Seemed to me like she was pretty eager to go too. No one else had asked her yet.” He stared at his sister for a few more seconds before continuing. “And since I know you’ll ask, yes I do like her. I don’t know when or why, she’s just been on my mind a lot lately. I don’t see anything wrong with asking a girl I’m interested in to a dance. Do you?”

@jill2

MADE BY VEL OF GS AND ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0

[Deleted]

grey xavier slater
<3

Addilyn thought that this may be the most Grey had ever spoken to her. But it did take her back to older memories when he would constantly yell at her and they'd always bicker. Addi hadn't meant to offend him, not at all, but what she said had just slipped out. And not in the best of ways either. What she said was incredibly rude, and she'd feel the same way Grey did if he had said that to her. A small pang of guilt ran through her and she tilted her head at him, looking very sheepish. "Grey I'm sorry. I don't think you're not good enough for her, I think she's not good enough for you. She's rotten from what I've heard."

She took a long chug of her coffee and took another bite of her eggs, hoping this time she wouldn't cough. "I just find it weird, Grey. You've never said anything about her before now, and you act as if you truly know her...it's very unusual. Do you even know who her siblings are? Or...what her favorite color is? Or anything? Or you just...are obsessed with her?" Addi was beginning to understand what might have happened; so instead of getting angry, she was going to ask questions.

[grey xavier slater]

He knew she was sorry, but that didn’t change the fact that she had said it. In his mind, it sounded like Addi wanted some kind of say or control in the girls he was interested in. Sure, he had never really brought it up before because he never thought it was pertinent to their conversations. Most of the last few months had been about him learning about Edmund and the two siblings figuring out their differences. There was a possibility Grey had long been attracted to Ondina and he had simply never made much effort to do anything about it. Plenty other fish in the sea, and as far as he was concerned, there was never a good reason for him to approach her in the first place and talk about it. At least, that’s what he had been telling himself lately. That all seemed to feel right to him, since that was the only reasoning he could place on his sudden interest in her. “Have you ever actually talked to her? I’d say she’s far from what anyone makes her out to be.” Their encounters thus far had shown him a side of Ondina that wasn’t even close to what everyone else kept telling him. To him, that meant someone was spreading rumors about her, and not the best kind either. If Addi were to believe them, then that meant they had to be rather bad ones.

Grey decided to hold off on his berating, since that wasn’t his intention in the first place. He felt like he had to defend his decision to ask Ondina to the ball though, since it was something he wanted to do. It wasn’t often where he was comfortable making his own choices like that, and to have someone, especially Addi, tell him that it was a bad one was insulting. He seemed to have gotten through to her though, because she backed off that topic entirely. Instead, she started asking questions about how much he knew of Ondina. “I can do that if anything comes of it after the ball.” He paused, thinking if there was anything else to add. “Like I said, all I did was ask her to the ball and she said yes. Everything else is minor details for now. It's not like we're dating yet.” Although that would be awesome.

@jill2

MADE BY VEL OF GS AND ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0

[Deleted]

grey xavier slater
<3

Addilyn knew she had struck a nerve, but what else did Grey really expect? That would be like Addilyn saying she was dating....she didn't know. Someone she had never really had any experience with, and that Grey had heard a ton about, someone in his house. She scrunched up her nose, thinking for a moment. "No, I haven't really spoken to her, but she's friends with a group that not many people speak to or enjoy being around, Grey." Addilyn shook her head, and rose an eyebrow at him. "How would you feel if I told you I was going to the Yule Ball with Daryl Thomas?"

"You don't want to do that before the ball? It just seems like to me you're going after her looks, and not her. I know you say you will, but...it's just unusual." Addilyn's jaw dropped slightly when he mentioned them dating. She was in disbelief at her older brother. Not only because this was the subject they were on, but because Addi was positive this was the most Grey had spoken to her in the longest time. It was all amusing and fun, but she was honestly worried there was something wrong with him.

[grey xavier slater]

Grey felt a personal sense of victory when Addi said she had never really talked to Ondina before. That meant she actually had no idea what the other Slytherin girl was like. Rumors were rumors, that’s all. He had thought the same at first, possibly one of his hesitations in talking to her in the first place. That had all been dispelled immediately upon their first meeting though, and he wasn’t exactly worried about the rumors anymore. There was no way they were true. They couldn’t be. “She probably feels obligated to be with them because of her cousin, Lucy right? Anna’s sister? I’m sure if you actually talked to her you would see something completely different.” Grey had. From what he could tell, Ondina was afraid of being passed over by the rest of her relatives. If she had done some unsavory things here and there, then it was probably all for attention. Everyone did that right?

Addi’s comment about her going to the ball with Daryl made Grey lean forward in his seat. That wasn’t a funny joke to make at all. Daryl was…well Daryl did what Daryl wanted to. Grey could still find faults in the argument though. “Daryl Thomas wouldn’t be caught dead with a date to the ball. He’s too busy messing around with multiple girls that doing that would ruin his shot with all of them.” The other Gryffindor boy was smart. It creeped Grey out that Daryl had no qualms bouncing from one girl to the next, never seeming to make any connections other than the ones under the bedsheets, but to each their own. He was still a roommate and rather talented in other regards, so it wasn’t Grey’s business what went on in his personal life. As long as his own bed was left alone during anything going on, Grey could care less.

“I mean, I’m figuring out things here and there. I’d rather see if we hit it off at the ball first. If not, we’ll go our separate ways. Like I said, I don’t really see what’s wrong with that.” Grey imagined it as going as friends really, and if more came from it, then it did. The correct answer there was that he wanted it to become something else by the end of the night, but he assumed that could be tough. Weasley’s were a tough catch, actually asking Ondina to the ball was probably the easiest part out of the whole ordeal. There were going to be tons of family members and whatnot that were going to try and get in the way. Most likely Lily. She seemed to be good at dragging him away when he was trying to do important things. Usually that was fine, but he’d have to be careful during the ball.

@jill2

MADE BY VEL OF GS AND ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0