Callidora Ismene Black (callidora) wrote in parsellemouthe,
@ 2008-02-05 20:56:00

Who: Callidora and Harfang
Where: The foot of the staircase, Great Hall, Hogwarts
When: Monday evening, seven-thirty.
What: Rounds!
Why: Sara wants to have some sort of vague, business-like relationship established- since they HAVE been in school together for SEVEN YEARS- before the shit hits the fan with Cedrella and Dora finds herself affianced to a Longbottom.

At seven twenty-five on the dot, Callidora Black appeared at the foot of the staircase. Evening it might have been, but her blouse and skirt were perfectly pressed and no hair on her head was askew; neither did she sit on a step to await her partner, or even lean. Her posture was ramrod-perfect. The Head Girl would keep up appearances no matter what, thank you very much.

Not that she relished the idea of doing rounds with the Longbottom boy. She didn't mind his company, certainly, but he was far from a friend, barely even a peer, really, and that only because his family had managed to retain its purity minus any wealth or dignity. And she'd been planning to spend the evening quietly, finish up some assignments, that sort of thing. But a Head Girl had to do what a Head Girl had to do. She glanced at the clock- not impatient, of course, that wasn't becoming, but not terribly pleased to stand here waiting either.

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callidora
2008-02-06 05:07 am UTC (link)

Callidora's laughter was more polite than genuine, and more startled than either. "No," she agreed, "if there's one thing my family isn't known for, it's producing reliable seers. Our one flaw," she added lightly, not really serious but not exactly joking either.

They rounded a corner, the girl stepping quickly to avoid the possibility of bumping awkwardly into the boy. "Your siblings are well?" That was another safe, polite nothing. Perfect.

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harfang
2008-02-06 05:15 am UTC (link)

Flaws were not a safe topic; the Longbottom family had them in spades, to the eye of a Black. His mother hadn't even attended Hogwarts! Harfang began to feel embarrassed, but quickly fought the feeling down. He knew in his heart that such things didn't matter. But Callidora Black thought they did, and his mother, Hogwarts education or no, would want him to make a good impression.

Clearing his throat quietly at the slight closeness brought by taking the corner, he nodded. "They're wonderful. They always seem to be. Hardly ever unhappy." He paused. "Well, Pippa's cat is sick, apparently. I didn't get a chance to say I'd have a look at her before I had to go on rounds."

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	callidora 2008-02-06 05:29 am UTC (link)
	Well, that sounded like a disparagement of his prefect duties, and that got a bit of a Look from Callidora, but she refrained from scolding him. "I'm sure you'll have time when you get back," she said evenly instead. "Or, if worse comes to worse, in the morning. I do hope it's all right," she added, relenting. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	harfang 2008-02-06 05:34 am UTC (link)
	"Oh, well, I doubt it's urgent..." Harfang scrambled to recover. "She just wrote that she was sneezing. Lacey, that is, not Pippa. Well, Pippa wrote that Lacey was sneezing." He exhaled sharply. "There's probably nothing I can do, but I thought I'd offer to help." He shrugged. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	callidora 2008-02-06 11:42 pm UTC (link)
	Again, Callidora had to stifle a giggle as Harfang stumbled over his explanation. Really, he was almost endearing. Almost all of the boys of her close aquaintance were a good deal more suave than this. "And are you much of a veterinarian, Mr. Longbottom?" she asked, taking care to keep her voice sweet in an attempt to put him at his ease again. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

harfang
2008-02-11 12:43 am UTC (link)

Suave was a word rarely used to describe Harfang Longbottom. Pureblood though he may be, his parents had always emphasized actual manners over smooth polish and the appearance of manners.

"Not really, I suppose," he said after a brief pause to ponder the subject. "But well, a lot of the same principles can be applied to non-magical animals. Kneazles and cats are very similar, of course, so that makes it easier. The same goes for crups and dogs."

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callidora
2008-02-11 12:52 am UTC (link)

"Well, then, I do hope you're able to do something for your sister's pet," Callidora murmured. There were only so many things she could think of to say about crups and kneazles, after all. The Black family kept pets, of course, Father's dogs, Mother's cat, but Callidora had always been a bit frightened of the canines, and the cat wasn't exactly hers to begin with. Not much to say about it, and Dora hadn't continued with Care of Magical Creatures after the requirement dropped.

They rounded a corner into another perfectly empty corridor. "Everyone seems to be in their dormitories tonight," the girl noted. "How...odd."

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harfang
2008-02-11 12:59 am UTC (link)

"Oh, she'll probably be fine before I even get to see her," the boy said affably. "It's just like a human cold, really. They usually only last a day or two. Except there's no Pepperup for cats. Yet." He spent a few moments musing on that - could such a thing actually be feasible? Maybe in a smaller dosage...

"Maybe they heard the Head Girl would be doing rounds tonight," Harfang hazarded, smiling faintly to himself.

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callidora
2008-02-11 01:03 am UTC (link)

Callidora, honestly bored with the cat talk now, nodded that off, remaining silent while it was clear Harfang was pondering. Her mind wandered briefly- to Cedrella, as always, what her sister could be doing now, and oh dear, what if she was with that Weasley boy, and-

Recalled to the moment by Harfang's comment, Callidora blinked at the boy, her brows shooting up. "Unless they heard it from you, that would have been quite hard," she pointed out after a moment. "Did you warn them, then? 'Be good, tonight, children, Callidora Black will be watching?'"

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	harfang 2008-02-11 01:06 am UTC (link)
	"Oh, no, of course not!" Harfang insisted. But then, "Well, I mentioned it to Pippa, but only because she'd asked about my day! I'm sure she wouldn't have told anyone. Maybe it was Riley?" he offered sheepishly. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

callidora
2008-02-11 01:11 am UTC (link)

Callidora bit back a smile by pressing her lips together tightly. "You may relax, you know, Mr. Longbottom," she said gently. "I hardly mind if you told the entire school; I'm only doing my duty, after all, as are you. It's not quite a secret that the Head Girl does rounds. And even if it were, I don't bite, you know." Unless you got cheeky with her, but she could hardly imagine that from this particular boy. He was a Hufflepuff, after all. Harmless. And for all that she expected the proper amount of respect due her name and her status from her peers, the girl didn't actually want anybody afraid of her or her reactions. Except possibly Cassiopeia, but that was for the greater good.

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harfang
2008-02-11 01:18 am UTC (link)

"I'm sorry," Harfang said, his words spilling out in a rush, "only you're the Head Girl and a Black and my parents always taught me to be respectful to my superiors." And Callidora Black was about as far superior as one could be to Harfang Longbottom, unless perhaps they were the Minister of Magic.

"I'll try to be more... relaxed," he offered, yet he certainly didn't sound any more at ease.

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	callidora 2008-02-11 03:06 am UTC (link)
	Well. Callidora had to admit that that was reasonable. Still, respect was one thing, jumpiness another. "Do," she murmured after a minute. "It would actually be the most respectful thing, since I've requested it, don't you think?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

harfang
2008-02-11 03:11 am UTC (link)

Harfang walked in silence for a few moments, bringing his breathing and heart rate under control. At length, he agreed with a simple, "Yes, it would."

The young man's eyes roved the corridors as they made their rounds, looking for anything out of place. The student body seemed to have been particularly well-behaved that day, however. There was nary a student in sight, though it was not yet past curfew.

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	callidora 2008-02-11 03:17 am UTC (link)
	"Did you give warning that I'd be out?" Callidora asked after several minutes. "I haven't seen it this quiet since everyone was down with that awful fever two years ago, do you remember? Only it hadn't gotten into the Dungeons yet, so we Slytherins were pulling all the rounds, and everyone was too ill to sneak about." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	harfang 2008-02-11 03:21 am UTC (link)
	"Of course not," Harfang assured her, attempting, mostly successfully, to keep the nervous squeak from his voice. "I only told Pippa, and she had no reason to spread it about." A brief pause as he thought back to his fifth year, then, "Yes, I was in the hospital wing for three days, it was awful." (Reply to this)(Parent)

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