Of All These Yesterdays [Liona]

[Deleted]

@lionaanna

Studying. That’s what the majority of January had been for Scorpius Malfoy so far. NEWTS were just around the corner, if the corner was the end of term, and if he didn’t get started now then he’d push it off months at a time. He wasn’t exactly worried about them, seeing as his grades were already outstanding, more so that he was concerned other things could possibly distract him from time to name. Namely someone called Rose. She was pretty hellbent on doing well on the exams as well, so he didn’t see too much of an issue there. There would most definitely be times where a distraction or two would be needed, considering some of the course loads he was looking at already.

Thus, Scorpius had made his way into the library early that morning, hoping to get in as much knowledge on Transfiguration before lunch. Cram studying this early wasn’t a bad thing, and they were more than likely going to get some new subject material before the exams as well. Some would probably call him crazy for caring so much about his studies, but as of late his head was finally back in a good place and this seemed like the only logical thing to be doing on a day off, other than seeing Rose of course. Maybe if he was lucky she’d turn up at the library too. Study dates were far from romantic and usually nothing got done during them, but it was the thought that counted.

Cracking a brand new notebook open and placing his note-taking one next to it, Scorpius started to transcribe his jumbled notes into the new one. This was a pretty good tactic considering it helped him remember the motions of writing it all down twice, allowing him to visually retain the material better. After he finished this monotonous work, he’d start in on re-reading some of the textbooks, adding even more information to his notes. If he buckled down and didn’t get distracted, lunch would be here in no time.

[Deleted]

Liona was on a mission. To the library of all places. Not to study, although that should definitely have been her intent considering that this was the final half of her last year at Hogwarts. That thought alone made her second guess her purpose of going there but she quickly blew that idea off. She could study later. Right now she just needed to talk to someone. And to interrogate this someone. She kept flipping back and forth in her mind about which conversation was more important.

Her beloved cousin, Scorpius Malfoy, was one of her favorite people on the planet and he was the best person she knew to bounce ideas off of. He was a great voice of reason for her and so who else would be best to talk to about the fact that she finally settled on where she wanted to start her career in the ministry? Granted, it was a similar path that he decided to take and she felt like he would mention that to her, that she was following him to become an Unspeakable. She wasn't, of course. They both had a love for the unknown and because of that being an Unspeakable was a perfect job for the both of them. She didn't know about his ambitions but being an Unspeakable was just the beginning of her journey in the Ministry. Her plans far exceeded just being an Unspeakable for the rest of her life but this was a good stepping stone. He'll probably shake his head at her but still she wanted to tell him because she knew he'd be happy for her.

Her career decision wasn't the only reason she was seeking him out. They'd stayed back at Hogwarts to attend the Yule Ball. Her night had gone bad and then good thanks to someone in particular, but in between the bad and good she'd sought out her cousin to say hi. She'd expected him to be with Ondina Weasley but to her surprise she'd spotted him across the Great Hall with none other than the Head Girl, Rose Weasley on his arm! All of this time she'd been thinking he was going to end up with Ondina, even after their conversation about him having a fling with her he'd shown up with Rose? She was confused and amazed and scattered. And she wanted answers. And he'd better be prepared to give her those answers!

It was with those two things in mind that she entered the library. She scanned rows of tables and shelves filled with books only to spot him and head in his direction. His head was in a book, as expected. He had always been a better student than her. She didn't know if he had heard her approach but she quickly pulled out one of the chairs at his table and sat down. She went to open her mouth but paused. What did she want to bring up first? He was studying so was it really the time to be bothering him. Of course, he could study later. She needed her answers though. And she wanted him to be happy for her and tell her that she was on a good path. She frowned as she looked at him, resting her head on her hand and getting lost in her thoughts once again. "There is so much going on, Scor," she sighed instead.

Tag; @scorp
OOTD; Here

[Deleted]

@lionaanna

Scorpius had only gotten through half the notebook, which was a considerable amount seeing as he wasn’t cheating with an automatic writing pen like some students did for extra notes. Re-writing all of the material was easy because he knew all the content already. That was a good sign. If anything ever came up in his notes that he didn’t recall learning about, then there was an issue; usually it was his fault for not paying attention, but sometimes professors left out important material that would show up on later exams. Human error was forgivable though. Lifting his head up from the notebooks, he stretched his neck, an audible crack emitting from it as he rolled it around. Being stiff while studying made the whole process painful, which is shouldn’t be for him. Seeing as he hadn’t noticed Liona approach and sit down across from him at the table, that meant that he had been paying close attention to his work. Another good sign.

As his cousin sighed and mentioned there was a lot going on, Scorpius raised an inquisitive eyebrow. There definitely was a lot going on, at least in his life, so he wondered what Liona could be going through. More than likely similar things to him, if he had to take a guess. All seventh years had to be thinking about careers and final examinations at this point. “You’re not the only one going through that,” he chuckled, closing the two notebooks in front of him. They could wait until later, seeing as he had gotten a decent amount of progress done so far. The NEWTs were still months out anyways. “Start from the top? I always have time for a chat.”

[Deleted]

She was brought out of her thoughts at the sound of his chuckle. She couldn't help but snicker herself. It was rather odd of her to just show up, clearly interrupting his study session and not say anything but that. She was sure he had a lot going on, all seventh years had to have a lot going on. They were all about to graduate and have to fend for themselves. How scary was that? She wasn't really worried for herself really but she was sure that's how others with less wealthy or prominent parents were feeling. She could call herself lucky but, if her father had anything to say about it, luck had nothing to do with it.

"Are you certain? I would hate to get in the way of you being a better student than most of us but if you insist...," in reality she had no intention of leaving without talking out everything that was in her head. She at least had to give the impression of being selfless, even if he could see right through her. He was her favorite, of course he could see right through her.

"If you want me to start at the top, I guess it would start with you, dearest cousin of mine" the smirk that appear on her face was pure mischief. "Scorpius Malfoy, you charming devil. You have, not one, but two Weasleys after you. Maybe not after you because who knows what Ondina is doing with whomever but our dear Head Girl? Personally, just based on the fact that she's Head Girl she's better suited for you. I'm shocked. I'm in awe. How did this one come about? Please don't tell me you were pining after her while with Ondina? Why didn't you just date her in the first place? She's cuter anyway," her thoughts and questions fired off in rapid succession and by the end of it the librarian was glaring at her because her voice had risen in volume the more she spoke. She couldn't find it in her to care though as she looked at her cousin in amusement.

Tag; @scorp
OOTD; Here

[Deleted]

@lionaanna

He snorted as his cousin stated that she would hate to get in the way of his studying. Nothing could ever get in the way of that; the only reason he was such a good student was because he dedicated his life to studying and learning, no matter the cost. At this point, Scorpius was positive that he was going to do fine on his NEWTs and could easily get any job of his choice. And if he couldn’t do that with his grades and merit, then he could fall back on the name, as much as he hated relying on that. Of course there was no telling if a future employer would automatically choose him over others because of his lineage, so there really was no problem using all of his assets to get a decent job. Again, that was only if he managed to flop because of his own skills, which was definitely not going to happen.

Setting his head on his hands, he listened to Liona detail everything, and it was quite rapid indeed! She wasn’t kidding when she said there was a lot going on. Then again, Scorpius already knew all of this because it concerned his recent love affairs. He couldn’t help himself from grinning like a fool throughout it. When Liona finally finished, stating that he should have dated Rose from the start, Scorpius nodded his head in agreement. Now he had to figure out a way to answer each of her questions. “Two Weasleys indeed. Though I think they’re both after me for different reasons now. Ondina would probably love it if I croaked here and now. Rose though…” Scorpius found himself smiling again, a little smugly at that. “Rose was more of a development at the end of last year during, you know,” he motioned with his head to indicate the kidnappings. He hated bringing that up all the time. “And then some things happened between me and those two, but I fixed it for the ball.” That was easily the best way he could explain all of that without having to spend hours trying to get the details straight. It was hard enough thinking about what had happened, let alone telling other people without generating a million other questions. “Not that I don’t regret dating Ondina, but I agree with you. I should have been with Rose from the start.” Ondina was poisonous, and unfortunately it took him too long to figure that out.

[Deleted]

Liona watched the grin that spread across his face as she spoke quickly down to the last nod he gave in agreement with her. He really should have dated Rose first, that would have saved her all of the annoyance of having to see him with someone clearly unworthy of dating her wonderful cousin. Soul sucker that one was and it was nice that he realized that and got out of that relationship. Or at least that what she imagined happened. She listened intently to his response as he answerered her every question, though a little vaguely if she had to say so herself. She honestly didn't care about the bit about Ondina. She was a nobody and if she ever tried anything against her cousin, the revenge would be swift. She didn't normally tangle in messy matters but this was her cousin. And sure he could handle himself but he didn't have to.

"So you're telling me this all has been going on for a while? And here I thought that silly little gossip column was just grabbing at thin air... Does that mean it actually has some merit!?! " the last bit was said incredolously and incredibly loud and she earned a swift 'shh' from the librarian along with a nasty glare. She cringed a little bit and frowned apologetically before turning back to her cousin. "What do you mean something happened between you three? Did you kiss Ondina again?" she asked with a roll of her eyes. She'd recalled him telling her about a kissed he'd, in her opinion, mistakenly given Ondina the summer before. Or sometime around then. Had he been interested in Rose too? "Wait had you been interested in Rose when you'd kissed Ondina that time too??" she tried to keep her voice down when she spoke but wasn't doing to great of a job. At this rate she was going to get kicked out of the library. She nodded at him when he agreed with her that he should have dated Rose in the beginning. "Well you seem happy Scor and that's what matters. As long as she treats you right I'm happy. Wait she does treat you right, right?" She didn't really know the Head Girl, getting any information she had about her from rumors and just based upon her general absence from the public eye. She was a good student, clearly, she was Head Girl. She was a Weaseley, also basic information. She was dating her cousin. New, interesting information. Why was she interested in her cousin? "What is our dear Head Girl like when she's not holed aways somewhere studying?"


Tag; @scorp
OOTD; Here

[Deleted]

@lionaanna

Merlin, the gossip column. It was a pain in everyone’s…well, Scorpius was unaware of anyone that particularly liked it. Nobody was exempt from its poisonous words. “Afraid so. I think the stories themselves are fabricated to an extent, but the root of them is usually true.” Scorpius wasn’t one to wish gossip on anyone, but there were a few people he wouldn’t mind seeing in there someday. Liona continued talking, bringing up a point that he wasn’t exactly proud of, even half a year later. Scorpius immediately threw his finger up to his mouth to get her to bring her volume down. “Unfortunately. Over the summer. And then Ondina happened to bring it up in front of Rose in September. But that’s said and done with now, okay? Trying to sweep all that under the rug.” That and he was afraid what wandering ears in the library might make of that little comment from his cousin. Rumors never needed the full story to deal damage, though sometimes he wished they did. They were easier to stamp out when all the facts were there. “And I was there to see Rose, but Ondina was there instead. Merlin, she knows how to pull people in. I don’t think I want to know the lengths she’s gone to so as to keep playthings around.” Scorpius was fully aware that he was one of those toys, though one that broke from his chain and ran away.

He snorted at the mere thought of Rose not treating him well. “Sometimes I think that I don’t deserve her. Not after what I’ve done, and most definitely not after Ondina.” He wanted to add that it was better to learn from mistakes and grow from there, but this whole ordeal was more luck than anything else. Lessons were learned from it of course, though there would surely be trust issues for a while, if not forever. Scorpius didn’t want to toss out the fact that he and Rose hadn’t been dating at the time that he kissed Ondina, because that made it seem like he was in the right. He wasn’t. “What’s Rose like outside of that?” Scorpius repeated, tapping his fingers along the table as he thought. Wonderful. That was what she was. “Pretty much the same, really. Though not as intense as she normally comes across as. Everyone has that inner, softer layer though, right?” Except maybe Ondina.

[Deleted]

When he conceded to her statement regarding the gossip column having merit, she found herself frowning. Who would have thought that a silly gossip column would print the truth? She'd never read the column herself because of that fact; she'd found the idea of the column to be idiotic. Maybe she should start reading it now. She would have found out about her cousin and Rose Weaseley much earlier had she believed any of the rubbish that was printed. "How disappointing. The idea of a gossip column is just so... lazy. I would much rather find out secrets the old fashion way," she was thoughtful for a moment. It seemed like cheating that everyone else would know the secrets that she found out and kept after the hardwork of working people into trusting her or just coming upon them. She couldn't help the snicker that came out of her when her cousin shushed her to keep her from talking to loud. She was sure that was something he didn't want to get out and she couldn't blame him. Most people looked at him like he was perfection; he came from an impeccable house, was a great student and an all around good person. Practically flawless. If word got out that he made mistakes... well she was sure that would only favor him to them even more. He was great but he was also a regular guy etc etc... "Who cares what she's doing or who her playthings are? I'm just glad she doesn't have to be in my regular vocabulary when I talk to you know. I know you liked her then but really cousin she's terrible and childish and just oh so petty," she rolled her eyes in a bored manner as she spoke of the abandoned Weaseley. "That is beside the point though. My dear cousin has shattered his image of perfection for me. Whatever shall I do?" she whispered dramatically before giggling.

She could only nod in understanding at him saying he didn't deserve Rose Weaseley. The statement rubbed her the wrong way if she was being honest with herself because that's when it really sunk in that, yeah, he'd messed up. He'd hurt someone he'd cared about. "I'm sure you'll make it up to her. You'll have to work hard, but you'll make it up to her. " If she thought about it more, she'd start to feel down. She couldn't imagine being hurt like that. She shook the thought off and directed her attention back to her cousin. She titled her head slightly to the side in interest as he described the head girl. She really didn't know the girl well and hadn't had too many intereactions with her other than in shared classes. She was a know-it-all, though that wasn't too surprising because her father had described Hermione Granger-Weaseley the same way once or twice when he did talk of his school days. She shook her head at his question though, amusement written on her face. "I'm not too sure about that. Your ex doesn't seem to have one. Sorry. Didn't mean to bring her up again. I won't say her name anymore, that's for certain." she snickered.


Tag; @scorp
OOTD; Here

[Deleted]

@lionaanna

“As would I,” Scorpius agreed. The gossip column, and whoever ran it, were thorns in everyone’s side at some point in time. It was better to just ignore everything they published and continue on with life. The only problem was that other students started to realize that some of the stories were more than libel at this point. As Liona had pointed out, they held merit on some grounds; mostly half-truths that pointed readers in the right direction to find what they were looking for. It was rather disgusting that the school couldn’t stamp it out. Surely the newspaper club members were tired of getting requests for the column, seeing as they didn’t run it. What they did with those rumors was beyond him, but hopefully they were closer to figuring it out than he ever would be. While it didn’t personally affect him the way it did others, Scorpius would be glad to see it disappear without a fight. “Though no secrets would be best. Being honest with people is far more fulfilling, even if it does cause backlash.” Scorpius knew exactly what he was talking about there. When Ondina had confronted him and Rose about their kiss over the summer. There had been no reason for him to lie to Rose, and he liked to think that because he was honest and truthful, that’s why they were the way they were right now.

Scorpius held back a laugh as Liona went on and on about Ondina. Apparently he was the only one that hadn’t seen that side of her when they had first started dating. The Weasley girl was a snake through and through. For some reason he thought he was immune to that, but it was apparent now that it wasn’t the case. “How do any of you manage to live in the same dorm room? Seems like she would exude all that pettiness at the rest of you eventually.” For that, he was thankful that the other seventh year boys seemingly got along, or could at least stand each other while everyone slept. He couldn’t imagine what Ondina, or her cousin Lucy, for that matter brought to the table every day. He knew Dusti wouldn’t back down to them as well, so that probably meant all hell broke loose more often than not.

“Look the other way maybe? Pretend it never happened.” Scorpius laughed. “I will say, it’s kind of nice not to be held to perfection standards sometimes. Not that letting loose all the time is a good thing, but knowing when to separate work and play evenly. I know I’ll do fine on these tests,” he tapped the notebooks in front of him again, “so I can take the time to relax and enjoy school for these last few months. And work on making things up to Rose.” Scorpius was sure to add that last part. His plan prior to the Yule Ball had gone according to plan, and now he was onto phase two. Things probably wouldn’t be the way they were last school year or during the summer, but it was still better than his time with Ondina. He nodded his head at the idea that Ondina didn’t have a soft side to her. That was…true. “She may have a career as an actress in front of her,” he pointed out, knowing that Ondina had both the nasty and sweet sides down perfectly. Her poor parents. “So enough about me. What have you been up to these last few months? And don’t say school and studying, because there is surely something interesting worth mentioning.”

[Deleted]

She reeled in the snort that wanted to escape at her cousin's words. Honesty was too easy. Or too hard depending on how you looked at it. People made it harder on themselves by not being honest but this was the real world. If people were always honest life would be stagnant. His answer was completely him; Scorpius could be really virtuous. Sometimes it was endearing and sometimes it was humorous. It was all the same to her, she loved her cousin and his virtuous insight into life. "Everyone has secrets Scor. I think I like it better that way. It makes life more interesting when they come out, good or bad. Even I have one or two," she immediately thought about how she'd been contacted by the Purifiers in an attempt to recruit her to their cause. She'd only told her father about it so far. It wasn't that exciting of a secret to her but she knew people would be interested to know where she stood in this new uprising if it were to come out. "Secrets change plans. Secrets change minds" she was lost in her head again for a moment.

"Personally," she began at his question regarding the dorm living situation, "it is incredibly easy to do so when you pretend that certain people don't exist. I'm rather good at that. Not avoiding, that's different." Amusement danced around her eyes at all of the times she'd walked by a few of the not-so-desirable Slytherin girls she had to share sleeping quarters with over the years. Some of them had the nerve to get upset with her because she ignored them so thoroughly. Others knew better. "I'd been successful in my ignoring of a certain someone before someone I know decided it was a good idea to date her. It got harder after that," she rolled her eyes in mock anger at him before laughing. "Plus... I would hope she knows better than to throw her ignorance in my direction," her tone was dismissive saying that last part. She wished the girl would try.

He insisted that it was better that he wasn't held to the standard of perfection and she grinned. "Well I can't say I know what you're talking about because I'm perfect and I will continue to be perfect." If she could help it anyway. No mistakes. No weakness. That's what she was always taught and that's the standard she would continue to uphold. Secrets stowed and imperfections covered. "I'll probably be in the same position you are next week. The studying I mean. I should get a head start studying for N.E.W.Ts." She wasn't looking forward to the studying but it had to be done if she wanted to excel and be looked at to become an Unspeakable. She wasn't worried about the exams but you could never be too sure about what was going to be on the exams. With the wide range of topics covered in classes if was a gamble to assume one topic would be covered more thoroughly than another. That uncertainty is what led some students to spend countless hours in the library. She didn't want to be one of those students.

"Speaking of N.E.W.Ts... I think I know what I want to do after graduating. Don't think that I'm trying to follow you, I can't stress that enough. But I think I want to work in the Department of Mysteries..." she was trying to assess his reaction to her words carefully. They had a lot in common so it shouldn't have been too surprising that they might decided to pursue the same career though her choice was only a stop in her lifelong plan. She had bigger dreams, dreams of a higher position. Pursuing her passion and contributing to wizarding kind was a great start though.


Tag; @scorp
OOTD; Here

[Deleted]

@lionaanna

Life may become more interesting with the release of rumors and secrets, but only for those that they weren’t about. Scorpius believed he had a slightly different opinion on the matter than his cousin did, though he didn’t blame her. Looking at who her roommates were only solidified the reason to get a one-up on them if the chance ever came. Too bad half of the seventh year Slytherin girls knew how to watch their backs. Those would be the only secrets he’d really enjoy getting his hands on. Raising his eyebrows, he planted his chin down on one hand, propping his head up with it. “You? Secrets? Dear Liona, now you have me interested,” Scorpius smirked. “Unless it’s girl stuff, then you can spare me. Albus already clues me in on all of that.” Sometimes there was a little too much of an information trade when it came down to it. He enjoyed the whole Albus and Dusti dating thing, but some things could be left out every now and then. Though he supposed he wasn’t much better on that front, and probably did the same thing to his friend sometimes too.

The topic was still on the other Slytherin girls though, and Scorpius was rather interested in learning about the dynamics that he always heard about. It was obvious that most of them didn’t get along, and it didn’t take too much thinking to understand why that was. There were far too many alpha type personalities in one space. Then again, this was Slytherin they were talking about. Those that couldn’t be comfortable with the constant intellectual battles weren’t going to have a fun time while at school. If they wanted rainbows and warm hugs then they should have been in Hufflepuff. Apparently they were pretty good at that over there. “I might have to start doing that too.” Scorpius stated, pondering the thought a little. Ondina was surely going to try and enrage him further, it wasn’t like her to simply stop. “Sorry about that, by the way. I suppose it’s hard to ignore her if she gets right in your face.” Especially if she lures you into a make-out session. Scorpius shook his head to get that image out again. It was six months later and he was still disgusted at himself for doing that.

“Touché. You might give that Beauxbatons champion a run for his money then,” he laughed, remembering hearing things about the French boy’s extreme case of perfection at everything. He hadn’t been that far ahead of Anna in the first task, so Scorpius wasn’t sure how he could keep up that façade of an ego. One of the other champions was bound to best him at some point. “The scary thing is, I know that I don’t need to do this,” Scorpius pointed at the notebooks in front of him. “But if I don’t start now, I’ll worry about it for the rest of term and end up doing poorly because of it.”

Liona went on about what she wanted to after graduation. Scorpius could feel a grin crawl across his face as she stated that she wanted to enter the Department of Mysteries as well. That was excellent! In his personal opinion, anyone that wanted to strive for more intellectual content, without devoting years of research in the back of a dusty library somewhere in Rome, needed to enter the Department of Mysteries. From what he surmised, the department was the place to be for pursuing higher magical studies. That was more than enough to steal his heart. “That’s wonderful! Which part were you thinking? I’m going for the Brain Room. Still not sure what they do there, but I know how to use mine, so I assume that’s good enough.”

[Deleted]

The smirk that appeared on his face after he mentioned wanting to know her secrets had her snickering at her cousin. "No they aren't necessarily 'girl stuff', as you call it. My secrets are my own though Scorpius Malfoy and I would like them to remain that way," she stated dismissively though her grin remained set in place. She practically told Scorpius everything but there were a few things she wouldn't tell him about. Those letters were one, though she didn't have any evidence of them. That made it better though, there was no proof and, if what her father had told her was correct, the only other person to have any proof had been killed by the ministry. It would remain in the dark. She also tried to avoid telling her of any crushes she developed. She didn't like droning on about someone she liked when it never developed into anything. The time between crushing and bored was too short anyway usually. "I'm sure you and Albus Potter brighten one another's days with the details of your relationships anyway. I'm unattached and happy that way." She was only lying a little bit.

"You absolutely should. I know I feel much freer without having to deal with some people's existence," she chuckled lightly. "I must say that it's incredibly funny when I question their existence to other people. The confused look on their faces is well worth it. Even when they are in hearing distance." She'd done it before, right after Scorpius and Ondina split actually. She'd walked into the common room and some younger year students had been discussing it and asked her what she'd thought about them splitting. She'd proceeded to question who was this "Ondina Weaseley" and had stated that he cousin would never date anyone with such an odd name. It'd taken a lot of her to hold in her laughter while they looked back and forth between one another. "And don't worry, you have plenty of time to make it up to me somehow."

His laughter was contagious and she snorted when he mentioned the Beauxbatons Triwizard champion. She'd heard of his ego before she'd even seen what they guy looked like. Even then she couldn't find it in her to be impressed. Her laughter died a little when he all but bragged about not having to study. Okay, he didn't brag but really who says that! She stuck her tongue out in a very unladylike and childish manner. "Way to rub it in there, Scor. I think I'm going to be fine for the most part but Divination is the one that I'd be worried about. There could be anything on that test, really," She got lost in her thoughts thinking of the multiple types of Divination that existed and they could request they demonstrate any, if not most of the techniques. Astrology she'd practically perfected so she wasn't worried about that one. Cartomancy and Tessomancy were fun too but there were other more obscure forms that she didn't particularly like. She'd have to prepare for everything.

At his words, she paused just before she burst out laughing once again. A prolonged "Shhh" from the librarian had her covering her mouth in attempt to hold in her laughter. "I'm sure the Brain Room will put that big brain of yours to use no problem," she giggled. "Because we don't really know what happens in each room and if we're going solely off of names, the Time Room and the Love Room sound most interesting to me. How much fun would that be? Trying to discover the links between time or love and magic." She had to admit that her excitement grew because he was so excited about it with her. "Because we don't really know what happens in each room and if we're going solely off of names, the Time Room and the Love Chamber sound most interesting to me. How much fun would that be? Trying to discover the links between time or love and magic. "The Space Chamber would be a lot of fun too. Let's face it. I'm going to work in every available room and be a part of every bit of research that goes on."

Tag; @scorp
OOTD; Here

[Deleted]

@lionaanna

“I see how it is,” Scorpius taunted, leaning back in his chair and crossing one leg over the other, making sure not to break his gaze from his cousin for a few solid seconds. “If the powers to be decree that, then so they shall stay that way,” he added rather formally. Liona already told him quite a few things about her going ons and whatnot. Forcing her to divulge her deepest, darkest secrets wasn’t exactly his motive here. It was all fun and games, and her not sharing was perfectly fine with him. “But of course we do. Al has quite the feisty one too. I don’t think I would have ever been able to handle Dusti.” Though somehow he had with Ondina. Or she had simply twisted him into thinking he had. It was hard to tell with her. The Slytherin values stood out in some of them more than others it seemed. They were all snakes at their core though. “You can tell yourself that you’re happy that way, dear cousin, but just you wait. It’s a world of difference once there’s someone else.” Scorpius pointed out rather intelligently. He was positive of that statement. He used to think that the quick rush of acing an exam or paper, or winning a Quidditch match was the best feeling in the world. Nothing compared to being in love and being loved back. He’d bet his life on that.

Scorpius understood the reasoning behind Liona’s words, but couldn’t help but think how cruel that could be to some people. Obviously those like Ondina or Lucy deserved treatment like that, it was only fair. He questioned what kind of things someone had to do to his cousin to incur wrath like that. Erasing a person’s existence from your life was a difficult thing to do, and yet she made it seem so simple. “What’s the trick to it? I assume you start by ignoring them and go from there?” He found himself asking anyways, just in case he needed to follow through with it sometime soon. There was a nagging feeling that once Ondina caught wind he was on friendly terms with Rose again, she’d try to interfere. Hopefully she’d learn to count her losses before that happened though. She had plenty of other schemes to focus on, all of which did not include him or Rose. “Good, because I’m trying to make it up to everyone. I realize now that I was a fool.”

“Not my fault that studies come naturally to me,” he chimed in. It was true, it had always been that way with him. His confidence in scoring well and completing work to the highest level rubbed off the wrong way on some, but doing any less would be an injustice to himself. What was the point in not doing well in school, when that would dictate the knowledge he’d use in the working world? “Ah. Divination. I’ll admit, I wasn’t very good at that one. Probably for the reason you gave too, that anything can happen with it. Rather difficult to study and prepare for something that is random.” That and he found the classroom it was held in extremely stuffy, always causing a bad case of drowsiness in him the second he sat down. Scorpius liked to think he was an academic, and Divination was more of a specialty study far from his purview. Thankfully it wasn’t a required class.

Liona’s outburst of laughter at the comment about his brain caused him to become rife with giggles as well, though they were put out by the librarian quickly. Was it really that funny that he wanted to be in a room that required him to use his best asset? He didn’t believe so, yet he was still laughing regardless. Pondering her thoughts on the connections between love, time, and magic, Scorpius tapped the table a few times. “Muggles say that love is chemically induced, I believe, which would make sense, since we can’t even mimic it with love potions. All those do is put the brain into an overstimulated mode to falsify the feeling of love.” He could go on and on about it, since it was all theoretical in the end. There was a reason the Ministry had an entire secret division dedicated to the study of it. “So I would say that no, magic can never replicate the true effect of love. Though I’m sure those in the Love Room will have a far more intellectual idea on how it all works,” he ended. There he was, using his brain like usual. That’s why he was made for the Brain Room. “Do they allow that? Not that I would know, from the information they put out to the public.”

[Deleted]

She snickered at her cousin as he leaned back in his chair speaking in a serious tone that she would have believed had she not known him better. The maintained eye contact was a nice touch too. Funny guy. "Oh Scor, you should know that when it comes to my own secrets I am more powerful than the powers that be. If I don't want it to be known, it will not be known. It is that simple," she leaned back in her chair, much more relaxed than he and smirked confidently. She just nodded along with his words regarding Albus Potter's current girlriend, Dusti Flint. Odd name, though she didn't know much about the girl. They shared dorms and she was cordial with her, of course. She didn't know much about Albus Potter either though minus what Scorpius told her and what was obvious by his name. "Until that is proven true, I will stick with my previous statement. However, it is nice to see you feeling that way about our Head Girl. How cute. And it's absolutely written all over your face." Once again she teased him over his apparent adoration. It was nice to see him so happy with someone.

"Ignoring them is the trick. It's the hard part," she thought out loud. It was hard to ignore someone who you shared dorms with. It was difficult to ignore someone who came up in conversation too often for one reason or another. It was especially difficult to ignore someone who was dating your favorite and closest cousin, never mind the fact that he was your only cousin of dating age. "It really depends on who you're trying to ignore. If they are around you too often, it's much more difficult. Not impossible, but definitely difficult. You can't focus on them too much, even when they're brought up in conversation. It's an effort until one day it's not." It seemed cruel but Ondina was annoying. She tried too hard. She assumed it was because she was trapped under her last name and what it stood for. She was also being constantly overshadowed by her other cousins. Of course it was just that, an assumption. Such a shame. It wasn't Liona's problem though. Liona grinned at her cousin's words, saying that he was trying to make it up to everyone. "Aww look at you trying to be an adult. I can't say you were a fool but at least you are in a much better position now."

Liona wasn't bad at studying, she just didn't like having to study. If she paid attention well in many classes, she didn't have to study because she remembered the material well enough to do well. If she was distracted, it didn't take a lot of studying for her to remember the professor speaking on the topic in class and she could recall information a bit easier on it. With O.W.Ls and now N.E,W.Ts things were a bit different because they needed to recall information learned throughout their years of schooling instead of just information they'd learned more recently. "I'm looking forward to it though. I know I'm going to have fun with it whatever it may be. That may seem strange considering it's a test that will determine my future but Divination is just so much fun," she sighed happily at the thought of her favorite subject. Maybe studying could be a bit more fun when it was Divination. "which N.E.W.Ts are you sitting for? Which one has you in the library now? Or are you just tackling them all since you're student extraordinaire?" She tried to take a peek at his notebook, leaning over the table a little.

"We can't mimic love or replicate the effect of love with magic yet. I feel it will require more than just a potion to get research moving in a more successful direction because love is more than just something you feel. I feel they may already know that and really, we won't know until we enter into the Department how far their research has come. Love potions are readily available and made and if they've gotten farther than what is known, they wouldn't want to release it yet because love is dangerous," she added in her own thoughts about the possible research they may be doing in the Love Room. The conversation had her mind moving too fast and she wished she could enter the room now. She really couldn't wait until she was hired. "Who really knows what they allow other than someone who works there? Even if they don't, I'll make it so. Everything is far too interesting for me to just stick with one," she spoke with an incredibly determined look on her face. It may take a while, but she would make sure that she knew about everything that was going on in every room. Minus the Hall of Prophecy of course. Some things were best kept secret. "I'm really glad that they keep everything a secret. Imagine if all of the research was released to the public? Unfathomable chaos. Not to mention that research in the wrong hands could bring about endless wars."

Tag; @scorp
OOTD; Here

[Deleted]

@lionaanna

Scorpius couldn’t contain the grin on his face as Liona smirked at him. Secrets were no fun, but necessary sometimes. Of course, there were ways to break in and obtain them, each more sinister than the last, though he doubted Liona had anything serious enough that required more than a small dose of veritaserum. That would probably do the trick. “Careful who you say that around. Some might take that as a challenge to get inside your head,” Scorpius pointed out, tapping his temple a few times. Thinking of it more, he could probably name a handful of students in Slytherin house alone that would take that up if they had a chance. Add another handful of curious Ravenclaws trying to flex their academic muscles, and Liona would have quite a group of adversaries. While he thought about all of this, he wasn’t even aware of the goofy look he probably had plastered all over his face. “I was speaking from experience,” Scorpius defended, laughing slightly. “But yeah, things change sometimes. And I’m fine with that.” Prior to all this, he would have considered Rose as an academic rival, and while she still was in a way, that had all changed.

Figured. Ignoring people that were always around you was difficult, especially if they were aware of it too. He knew Ondina would purposely go out of her way to appear around him more often if she saw him actively avoiding her. That was just who she was. She would get bored eventually, as she did with everything she took interest in, so it was possible that this problem would solve itself before it ever became a real issue. In that regard, Liona’s follow up made more sense. “Only a few more months left in school, so that’s really all I need to suffer through. After that I’m home free.” As long as Ondina didn’t end up in the department of mysteries, in which case he’d start thinking of alternative career choices. “Trust me, I know I was an idiot. It won’t hurt me if you agree.” He had already come to terms with how stupid he had been when it came to dating Ondina. Blinded was a better word for it.

“What does Divination even entail at the N.E.W.T level?” Scorpius asked. “Other classes are relatively straight-forward. I can’t imagine reading tea leaves or staring into crystal balls constitutes much as a higher level exam.” Straight up multiple choice or written exams made sense to him; even Potions and Herbology having practical exams worked. Divination didn’t make sense though. “Sorry if it sounds like I’m bashing it, I’m just curious.” Though nowhere close to being curious enough to actually take the course. Probably for the same reason of it not clicking with him. “Everything. Except Divination, of course,” he smirked. “And today was a head start on Transfiguration. I’ve been a little distracted as of late, if you couldn’t tell, so I decided to study starting now in case those distractions become more frequent.” He hoped they would, as long as they didn’t interfere with his school work. Scorpius doubted Rose would let that ever happen. A plethora of study dates were probably somewhere in his future.

She could say that again. Love was dangerous. Scarily so, actually. The Ministry hiding more potent love potions, if they existed in the first place, that is, made sense. The ones that were available were dangerous enough as they were. One that could completely control another person was as serious as the Imperius Curse, albeit with less sinister intent. Hopefully. Both removed free will and controlled physical movement and mental thoughts. Scorpius quite liked having control over all of those. “Love is dangerous,” he agreed. That was an understatement if he’d ever heard one. “If anyone can do all the jobs there, it would be you. Maybe they have an overseer, someone that dips their hands into each division.” Quite a position that would be. Someone having that much knowledge on each individual department probably wasn’t a smart move if it did really exist, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t be a cool job. “Isn’t that why governments exist? To keep us safe from ourselves? It’s bad enough that dangerous spells and potions can only be regulated so much…”