Failed Intentions PV Finished

Laughter was ringing out clearly from the pair of girls, because Dee in particular was doing an absolutely terrible job of staying serious through Ileen's attempts to teach her what little the Slytherin knew of dancing. It didn't help that Ileen seemed to be in an unusually good mood today too, so most of their 'dance practice' really consisted of dramatic posing and stumbling over their own feet.

It wasn't that Dee didn't want to learn. Since the two of them were among the students tasked with organising the fall ball that not only their peers but also students from three other schools would attend, Dealla obviously had to be able to at least dance a little. She had a school to represent, and thus she had actually asked Ileen to teach her, and they had picked a rather deserted spot on the Grounds for their first attempts. She was starting to think that that might have been a terrible idea, though.

But still, it had been a fantastic day so far, and although Dee didn't feel like she'd learned anything so far, it was rather obvious how much she was enjoying herself. "Are you even sure you know this is supposed to go?" Dee asked, bursting out in another fit of silly giggling as they once again assumed a formal dancing stance. "I'm starting to doubt your competence as a teacher. Maybe we should get someone else to help us."

Before she could start making suggestions on who they might drag into their chaotic dance lessons, however, they were interrupted by someone Dee would certainly not count as a suitable option for the job. She had as per usual been too caught up in her own limited bubble to notice anyone approaching, but although she'd only heard it once, the voice was familiar, as were the words, and her shoulders stiffened before she turned to face their rather unwelcome visitor.

Never one for fake smiles, Dealla's expression was cool and her eyes sharp as she regarded the boy. The reminder of their last encounter and that day brought an unpleasant taste to her mouth. There weren't all that many people which she would straight-out say she didn't like, but with only a few short sentences exchanged, he'd managed to firmly plant himself in that corner. "Oh, yeah. How about you, on your way to throw a few punches for a thrill? Must be a foreign concept to you, people enjoying themselves without acting like idiots." There was a certain amount of derision in her voice but no outright hostility - yet.

@Ileen Knight | @Thomas Lestrange

With exaggerated indignation Ileen put her hands on her hips and tried to glare at her best friend - an action that was made considerably more difficult by the fact that she herself was fighting a new attack of laughter. She had known that it would be hard to teach her friend the little she knew about dancing and as expected it had turned into a silly jumping around and posing. This didn't bother the young Slytherin the slightest, especially since she was having the time of her life, but that wouldn't stop her from complaining about the lack of concentration her Ravenclaw friend brought to the table.
The wind blew a few strands of hair into her face and with a gruff gesture she pushed them out of her eyes. “Yes, please do it exactly like this. You won’t only make a fool of yourself but also most likely break someone's nose,” she criticized her friend’s last pose and tried to look strict, but had to giggle immediately. “Oh lord. This ball will be a total mess if everyone is as skilled as you are.” Although she was still laughing, there was a grain of truth in her concerns, even if it did not relate to Dee and her dancing skills.

In fact, Ileen put her heart and soul into preparing for the ball that the teachers had entrusted them with - although it had surprised and intimidated her at first, she was now proud that so much trust had been placed in them, and she would do anything to prove that not all students were idiots who created chaos wherever they walked and stood. Woe to whomever dared to destroy this event under the eyes of the young Slytherin - her wand was already loose at the moment anyway, but if someone dared create chaos at the ball, she would hunt them down and make them pay.

So, Ileen was trying to teach Dee as well as she could, although not very successfully - a fact that of course had nothing to do with her own silliness. So, when Dee, ungrateful as she was, questioned her competence, Ileen gasped in indignation and dramatically threw her hair that still was braided into a French braid over her shoulder. Of course, the twelve year-old only had learned the basics from her father ages ago, but for sure she knew more about dancing then her clumsy friend. “Maybe you are just a very bad student!” She shook her head disparagingly and blinked at her friend with a teasing sparkle in her eyes. “A true Dee-saster! You are a lost case! But if we run out of entertainment you can just ask someone to dance!”

Before they could continue their banter they were approached by a boy calling out to them.
Unhappy about the interruption of their dance lesson, Ileen reluctantly turned to the newcomer and met his gaze, unimpressed. The young Slytherin was still excited about her leisure activities and together with Dee she felt almost untouchable. Should she know this guy? With a slight frown, she tried to remember why she had a negative association when she saw him - she deliberately overlooked the prefect badge pinned on his chest. Hm. She knew that she had seen him a few times before, but she couldn't remember a specific situation. Probably he was just one of the idiots that always seemed to be around in her house - there were plenty of them so the chances were high enough.

He also rushed to confirm her assumption by giving Dee a cheeky comment right away. Really? Ileen was indignant. He was a prefect, he should be a role model and try to stop people from acting like idiots and not being one himself. Well - he was a Slytherin after all, so she shouldn’t be surprised.
As if Dee had read her thoughts, she countered with a comment about the topic Ileen was complaining all day long - idiots everywhere. A soft chuckle escaped her and she tilted her head as she watched the chaos unfold, ready to jump in to support her friend.

@Dealla Prince | @Thomas Lestrange

Credit to Syl for the banner

Antagonizing others for sport was intended to be placed on the do not do list, but old habits die hard, and this Raven had a mouth on her. She was not amused by Thomas’ cheeky remarks the day they met, and she was not amused now. Thomas issued a smirk of pity before narrowing his blue eyes. “Clearly some of us don’t have to act.” The boy’s flickered over to the Slytherin girl briefly, who chuckled lightly, opting not to speak just yet. Though Thomas could easily deduce if things turned for the worse, a common house would do little in determining the side she favored.

“Though I can’t blame you for your inherent state.” He shrugged softly, a sarcastic smile played upon his lips. “What is it you two were doing anyway?” Thomas tilted his head in what appeared to be genuine curiosity. “I hope it wasn’t dancing, for your sake.” Thomas continued to prod, quite amused with himself. He casually sidestepped the pair, still maintaining a healthy distance from the pair of girls. And here I thought nothing could be more disastrous than the ball itself.

The boy may have gone too far to follow his jabs with an exchange of names. The contentious introduction would not be easily deviated, even if the words were spoken in jest. It was obvious, Thomas did not know the pair of girls beyond a familiar face, so his claim of idiocy would likely fall on deaf ears. Albeit there was a shortage of thick skin amongst the student body.

As a result of his new approach to be better this year, he removed any signs of amusement, offering an opportunity for a civil exchange. “Thomas Lestrange.” He first looked at the bitey Raven. If she chose to give her name, he would turn to his housemate. If the Raven opted to retort, his focus would remain on her. We could only hope she was wise enough to make the right decision.

It was certainly interesting how much of a difference context and inflection made to how a statement was perceived. Another speaker, another tone of voice, or maybe even this speaker, with a different tone of voice and expression, and Dee might have shrugged the comment off, likely even laughed.

In these particular circumstances, however, none of the above was true, and instead, she could feel her temper rise up in her throat like an ugly cluster of harsh words and cutting remarks. No matter that she'd done the same - mostly unprovoked, too - how dare he show up here, interrupt their fun, and then call her an idiot on top of it? "You'd know, wouldn't you?" she shot back, her blue eyes flaring with her temper.

Her fingers were twitching a little, tempted to reach for her wand, although more as a demonstrative gesture than with any real intent to cast, yet. He'd stepped to the side, obviously intending to keep his distance, which... probably didn't make much of a difference. She wasn't likely to punch him, after all, although, looking at him, she had to admit that for the first time the phrase of having a "punchable face" made some sense to her.

Oh, but, as it turned out, his rudeness so far had only been the beginning, and now he was going too far. It was one thing for her to insult Ileen's dance teaching skills, or for her best friend to insult Dee's dancing in return, it was was something entirely different for any Tom, Dick, or Harry to do the same - and this Tom especially had no business whatsoever judging their silly afternoon of jumping around and calling it dancing.

Dee rocked forward onto the balls of her feet in an subconscious attempt to seem taller, her eyes narrowing into a glare, the full force of which was directed at their unwelcome visitor. Her temper snapped in a way that was neither expected nor on purpose, and the challenge slipped out without thought or intent. "Well, Thomas Lestrange, I suppose you can do better?" she asked, a confrontational glint in her eye. "I'd love for you to show us what we're supposed to look like when dancing. Would you care to give us a demonstration, or do you only judge other people without anything to back it up?" There was a hint of dismissal in her voice, as if she didn't expect anything to come of the challenge, but her stance didn't quite manage to back it up, her shoulders too stiff, fingers curled into the fabric of her knit jumper.

@Ileen Knight | @Thomas Lestrange

Ileen was used to watching Dee fight with housemates. Normally Ileen would make a single dry comment about how childish and stupid they were before shaking her head and leaving. But this time it was different. The other fights and banter she had witnessed had been rather funny to watch. That was not the case this time. This was an arrogant guy who thought he was superior, taking on two students on a whim simply because he was bored.
Right. They were two and he was alone - what kind of idiot was he? Did he think that his prefect badge made him untouchable? Or was he just more of an impulsive, stupid Gryffindor who had simply lost his temper? A prefect... The young Slytherin took it a bit personally that someone representing her house, which she already had a bad opinion of, obviously didn't bother to improve its reputation and instead acted like all the other Slytherin idiots. First, he had rudely only said hello to Ileen and not to Dee. Though the young brunette was normally good at taking sarcasm, something about Lestrange made her feel confrontational. This impulse towards rudeness was only further supported by Dee's reaction, which showed that Dee was not amused by the interruption either. Plus, this time Ileen had also been insulted. Even though she herself had teased Dee with her lack of dancing skills not even a minute ago, who was he to judge them?! As he sidestepped to keep his distance from the pair, a mocking smile appeared briefly on her lips. His reaction showed that he was completely aware of his rudeness and that he was anticipating physical reactions. What a sacrilegious assumption — as if they would punch or kick him right away.
After briefly thinking about it, Ileen had to admit that this was sadly but surely a typical reaction at this school. If he was demonstrating his normal charming nature right now, he likely got this as an answer often. Well, she would stick with her beloved sneezing hex after all and this seemed to be a situation she should step into her responsibility and make use of it at some point. But not yet.

As her friend shot back at him, Ileen crossed her arms and narrowed her dark brown eyes while sizing him up with a scornful look. She knew that Dee didn't need any support, but that was not what this was about. “Oh, I would love to see that, too. Though I doubt that he’s the skilled teacher you were waiting for.” She would return his gaze unimpressed if he looked at her while she was talking, otherwise, she would immediately turn to her friend. “Don’t even bother. I guess he’s like all the other people in my house. All hat and no cattle.”
Then she would turn to him and wave with a coquettish smile. “In that case... Hi Lestrange. Bye Lestange.” She just remembered why she didn’t want to get to know other Syltherins. He should leave before he got into a situation from which he could no longer escape. Ileen was in an exceptionally good mood, but she knew exactly where her wand was.

@Dealla Prince | @Thomas Lestrange

Neither girl returned a name, the attempted pivot to an introductory exchange fell flat--much like their ability to dance. Surely the fiery brunette did not believe Thomas would take the notion he was an idiot in jest. As far as the boy was concerned, the upward trend to hostility was squarely on her shoulders. And if this is the road she chose, he would make no effort to lessen her insufferable temperature rise. Instead chipping away to see how long it took before she abandoned her impassioned anti-fighting sermon the day they met. A true hypocrite.

“With the best of them.” Thomas cheekily tilted his head, allowing the insinuation of his idiocy to slide harmlessly off his shoulders. Partially an attempt to mitigate this brewing hostility, also a display that some cheap barb carried no weight. He could be brash, selfish, and callous--but he was not unintelligent. However, he could not fault the Raven for reaching this conclusion. Anybody impersonating Mcrgregor likely has a shortage of brain cells, or is in the act of pouring them away.

After the pair of girls displayed the combined sensitivity of a ginger ass on the beach, Thomas learned it would not take much to invoke hostility. Old Thomas would only prod further, relishing at the damage that comes from a simplistic barb. New Thomas intended to have more positive interactions. Making Jenny proud of her decision to elect Thomas as a representative for Slytherin. “A dance, without a name? Skipping a few steps?” New Thomas clearly lacked a grasp on the art of de escalation.

The sense of humor was not shared. As the Raven rose to her toes, retaining her introductory sharp edge. The boy lowered his head with a series of drawn out blinks. “No judgement. Only calling it as it is.” He took passive steps towards her, icy blue hues flickered over to the chime of her Slytherin friend. Her criticism of their shared house would receive no retort from the boy. Though he did oppose the toxic mindset sourced from generalizations. Not all groups of people are alike, and living proof stood only a few feet away from the naive girl.

Thomas halted a few feet short from the Raven. Eyes glancing down to her shoulders, possibly even noticing the modest tremble in her hand. “For one, you’re too tense.” Thomas was no expert, but it was common knowledge---to dance you needed to be loose. A willingness to let go. “Two, you’re afraid to be judged.” Dance like nobody's watching, they say. Thomas displayed some of the things learned in early learning drama classes. When performing, one of the biggest steps was to get out of your own head.

Now it was time to call their bluff. “Sure, I’ll dance.” The boy shrugged, warding off the internal screams in the scenario they accepted. “But a dancer needs a partner.” Thomas under the assumption the focus of their afternoon was to practice for the impending ball. Easy enough, hand to hand, one on the waist, form circles, occasional twirl. Of course, in his mind, he was neglecting footwork, and the importance of chemistry with your partner. Setting the boy up for embarrassing failure.

His eyes flickered from one girl to the other, eyes stopping to connect with the brown eyed brunette. “Or do you also sport one of those...cattleless hats?”

Ileen had picked this moment to enter the conversation, and Dee had to try very hard to fight down the smile that was tugging at her lips as she threw her friend a sideway glance. The words slipped out anyway. "Well, he can't be much worse than you, can he? I don't feel like I've learned anything so far..." She pressed her lips together the next second, the corner of her mouth still twitching upwards, then turned back to the intruder. That should be sure to kill her amusement - except his reaction wasn't really what she had expected.

For a moment, Dee blinked in surprise. Tense she might be, but she'd never thought of herself as someone afraid to be judged - to be precise, she usually didn't think enough about other people to fear their judgement. Was she afraid to be judged by this particular specimen? Maybe, but now that he'd made her aware of it, she refused to be intimidated. Let him judge away, if he wanted to, although according to him, it hadn't been judgement in the first place. Admittedly... she hadn't thought anything would come of her taunt. She certainly hadn't intended to dance with this clown. But apparently he was just as bad at backing down from a challenge as she was, and he probably wasn't aware of what he was getting himself into.

The next moment, a grin spread over her face, sharp and impish. Interesting how even the silliest encounters became more fun when turned into a competition of sorts - even if it was just to see who would lose their nerves first, who would chicken out. Her mood had tipped, crossed the border from defensive into competitive just with the perceived challenge, and suddenly, she felt a lot more comfortable. Dee had nerves to spare.

Her aquamarine eyes were sparkling with something between mockery and mirth as she stepped forward, her hands unclenching. "Sorry, was I rude?" she asked, although her voice was entirely unapologetic. She'd never been a good actress, and she'd never felt the need to try. Let people read from her face and voice what she was thinking. "My name is Dee Prince, although I'm not sure why you need that for dancing." She hadn't needed to know names to dance with people so far, but apparently this boy had stricter principles in that regard. Who was she to judge? Ileen could introduce herself if she wanted - Dee wasn't sure her friend would want to give her name to this sort of character, so she'd let her decide for herself.

Another small step forward, toes first, dance-like - a little less distance between them. She spread her hands in a gesture that might have been welcoming, her chin raised. "You can dance with me," she offered, amusement taking over her eyes. "As you've seen, I'm not much of a dancer, but you seem confident enough that it shouldn't matter, right?" She threw a teasing grin over her shoulder at Ileen, her eyes a little warmer, softer as she faced her friend. "I don't know about you, but I have neither hat nor cattle. What does that make me, then?"

@Ileen Knight | @Thomas Lestrange

Temporarily distracted by the cheeky comment of her friend she turned to Dee and made a face. “Wow. Rude. How dare you? You are abandoning me for the first random guy. I see how it is. Plus, it’s more your lack of concentration than my amazing teaching skills. You didn’t even try.” With exaggerated indignation and a teasing smile she shook her head before she turned to the Slytherin again, half of her smile slipping from her face leaving a crooked one.

When the prefect then actually pulled some reasonably useful tips from his sleeve, her eyes widened in surprise. Who would have thought it? She certainly hadn't.
Although Ileen wouldn’t admit it, she was rather happy she wasn’t in the focus of the discussion. She already knew that judgement was her weak point - the fear and aversion of being judged by strangers was an old friend who had been with her ever since she had gone to elementary school. This was also the reason why she tended to judge others harshly right away: It was better to decide to dislike others before they had the chance to reject you in the first place. She had acquired this habit subconsciously and was still far from being able to work reflectively on it.
Nevertheless a slightly amused snort escaped her. If he thought that they didn't know that her jumping and posing had looked ridiculous, he probably attributed them a thicker coat than they had.

Interested, the brunette Slytherin tilted her head and attentively followed the conversation reluctantly impressed. She had not expected that he would really accept the provocation, even if only to save his pride and she sensed the shift of mood in the whole situation.
The corners of her mouth twitched slightly and she bit her lip just in time to hold back a laugh. “Hm. Maybe it makes you a not so wealthy dance partner? And he needs your name to know who he has to warn the others at the ball about,” she suggested, returning the teasing but warm look of her friend before turning to Lestrange. "Do you realize what you've gotten yourself into?" If Dee didn't break his nose, Ileen would take credit for it.

She took a step back to take cover and watch the whole thing from a safe distance. If they really started a dancing lesson just because neither of them wanted to give in, she would enjoy the banter a little - not that she would have done it any differently. However, she had given up her own dance lesson.

@Dealla Prince | @Thomas Lestrange

The girls’ transitioned to poke fun at each other’s expense, signifying the air has cooled for now. A positive development for the littling part of Thomas that covets the preservation of peace. The trend towards civility would remain stable if Thomas willed it so, and the Raven’s hostility did not call for the execution of revolving insults in the boy’s head. There was no legitimate reason to punish the brunette after their first introduction. First impressions were hard to shake. Even if the boy presented himself with class, her concerns would likely remain. And he would not fault her for having them.

He had no answers for that day. To put it simply, that explosive swagger across the pitch was to impress another boy. No, not in the way you may think. More reminiscent of a business decision instead of a romantic pursuit. At least that’s what Thomas would say if asked, but who knows? The girls in her life were reprehensible, the prospect of a romantic relationship with one was buried after the force kissers, angsty bodybuilding veelas, and bubbly huffles . Yes, it was a fact--girls are gross.

The relevance of his opposition was heightened the moment Miss Prince said the words “Let’s Dance”. Well, not those exact words--Thomas didn’t actually hear them in growing panic. His eyes widened, the pit of his stomach sent ripples of anxiety that provided a slight tremble in his fingertips. The sound of her voice muted, to where all Thomas could hone in on was the brunette’s amused visage. She saw right through him, didn’t she? Why else would she accept?

His blue hues narrowed, flickering over to the Slytherin girl who shared this gaiety. Dealla presented the reverse bluff, and Thomas now out of cards. The walls closed in around him, fixed in the grave he foolishly dug himself. Left to bite the bullet and take her hand, or shamefully repudiate. If the girls looked closely enough, they may notice the rattled panic in his eyes. The boy’s nostrils flared and chest expanded with a sharp inhale. “Very well.”



Thomas shot a glare towards the Slytherin, as if screaming for her intervention. But he would not receive it, instead the girl pedaled backwards to allow this new dancing pair appropriate spacing. "Do you realize what you've gotten yourself into?" Thomas did his best to hide the gnawing anxiety, giving the girl’s the impression he was still in control. Though he was not, Dealla may have won the moment she challenged the boy to this dance. “Do you?” He was shooting a tank with a pistol, this battle was over---they just didn't know it yet.

Thomas would still have to follow through to preserve his pride, wary to provide any fuel to the Raven’s insults. But would this potential blow to his pride lessen in impact if he danced? On the contrary, his littling dancing knowledge could bring a level of embarrassment there’s no coming back from. With a gentle huff, he squared his body with Dealla. “You know where your hands go, yes?” Like a father agreeing with his adolescent daughter to play the Frozen soundtrack, Thomas took a few steps forward.

Awkward was an understatement. This was not simply breaking the ice, more like breaking a frozen pond with a sledgehammer. The boy gave the Slytherin girl a side eye before beginning this dance. “No music?” Anything to buy time before the inevitable. Besides, as she rotated to be the third wheel--she might as well find a way to be useful.

Thomas offered a hand to Dealla. Please punch me. Maybe the moment they made physical contact, the girl would be driven to tears, storming back to the castle. Or kick me. If she accepted his hand, he would follow by placing his opposite hand towards the center of her back. Anything, please. “Follow my lead.” If any consolation, Thomas acted in confidence as he was about to spin into his grave. His posture tensed, back straightening with his head rolling back to maximize the distance from her face--doing everything in his power to suspend incoming Tyranni flashbacks.

@Dealla Prince | @Ileen Knight