Chaos Ensues PV Tagged FINISHED

♤♧ Say not that we age, but that our beauty develops with time ♧♤

Interacting With: @Leonard Oaksworth & @Autumn Ivy
Tagging: @Lindsey Springhall

- 4:00 pm, after classes -

Much to the inevitable detriment of Leonard Oaksworth's mental health, the Slytherin would be left with a dreadfully inadequate amount of time to contemplate the idea of foregoing the impromptu meeting, for Marshal was about to arrive. To make matters even more unfortunate for his new green-clad friend, the lion was excited - unnecessarily so. Then again, excitement was his general approach to all aspects of life. Rarely was the enthusiastic grin erased from his young face, a trait that was often controversial among his peers by reason that some found it rather endearing, while others viewed it as relentlessly obnoxious.
But who took the time to make a poll for such things?
The glaringly obvious fact was this: Marshal Mozor was who he was and loved every minute of it - "who he was" being a cheesy goofball.

In recent conversation with Leonard, the goofball had learned that his partner in imminent crime was presently without a date to the upcoming dance. Naturally, Marshal had accepted the responsibility of fixing that problem, unwilling to leave anyone lonely on the eve of the dance if he could conceivably have a say on the matter.
Had Leonard asked for his assistance? Not exactly. Would he be thrilled about what Marshal had in mind? Not likely. But would he be grateful at the end of the story, when he danced the night away with a beautiful girl, much like a fairy tale finale? All signs in Marshal's mind pointed to yes.

The Gryffindor wasn't entirely sure what had prevented Leo from acquiring a date up to this point, but he certainly had a guess.
The Slytherin was unlike most people that one would meet over time. He seemed to be primarily scientifically-minded, with more inclination to point out the fundamental flaws in your joke than laugh along with you because the punch line was perfectly executed. While Marshal had thoroughly enjoyed every bit of their brief time together, he knew that many people wouldn't quite see the beauty in Leo's sense of humor upon initial observation. Considering that point, it wasn't terribly surprising that he also tended to be slightly reserved, and that, Marshal believed, was the root of the issue.
He could easily picture Leonard procrastinating the act of asking someone to the dance, therefore decimating his own opportunities. After all, it's impossible to win a race you're not in, which brings us to the heart of Marshal's plan.

In all honesty, the use of the word "plan" was generous at best. In essence, the idea was to drag Leo to the busiest area of the school, then push him in the direction of the first girl they saw. The hardest part of anything was getting started, so he figured this course of action would eliminate any excuses his friend might have about being too shy to start a conversation. The conversation would be started for him.
It was simply, undeniably fool-proof!

Confident in that misguided self-affirmation, the first-year had endured his classes for the day, surviving only on the thought of how gloriously his plot would work and neglecting to contemplate any potential flaws or drawbacks. The day had dragged on for what seemed like an agonizing eternity, but the time had finally come for one lucky girl to be wooed by a snake with a silver tongue.

Rounding a corner, Marshal caught sight of that sly snake, looking near as green as his house mascot. Evidently, Leonard didn't handle excitement well.
"Leo, buddy!" he called out, approaching swiftly. "You made it! Believe me, you're going to be glad you did later." The use of the word "later" was no coincidence, but he rather hoped it was slipped into the sentence casually enough to elicit no concern in his green pal. "You look like you're ready to have some fun, and it's a darn good thing, because I have something even better than taming dragons planned. Come with me." Leaving no room for questions, he threw a companionable arm around Leo's shoulders, using the contact to guide the dark-haired boy further down the hall. As always, the grin of genuine enjoyment never abandoned its post on his lips. Indeed, he had all the reason in the world to smile; his friend was about to experience something spectacular.

A minute later, the two of them reached a much more active section of the corridor. Students milled about, laughing with companions or simply moving past the crowd in favor of reaching their destination.
Scanning the area, Marshal quickly found what he was looking for - a lone girl, unaccompanied by others who would only serve to complicate the situation.
Leaning in close to Leonard's ear, the Gryffindor began his inspirational speech. "All right, Leo. You said you don't have a date to the dance, and I understand how much it means to you, so we're about to make your problem go away. Remember, if you get in trouble, ask if it hurt when she fell from heaven. She won't even be able to picture a timeline where she says no to you. Look, a girl!" With that, he all but shoved Leonard towards the girl, releasing his hold on the Slytherin's shoulders as he did so.

Deciding that he should get things started, Marshal approached the stranger as well, throwing a hand up to indicate Leo as though he were a salesman promoting his product.
"Hi there! I'm Marshal, and this charming fellow is Leonard. He couldn't stop talking about how stunningly gorgeous you are, so I figured I'd introduce the two of you."
Finished with that seamless introduction, he looked at his friend expectantly.

Attempting and failing at interacting with: @Marshal Mozor, @Leonard Oaksworth
Mentioning: @Lindsey Springhall

"Sincerely,
Autumn."

Autumn did not smile often. She especially did not smile out of happiness or sentimentality under most circumstances. When she did smile, it was typically due to amusement, sarcasm or having to smile as a part of a lie. Most of her smiles were not sincere, although they looked the part. She would smirk, snicker, sneer, smile like she knew something that the other didn't, but sincere smiles were really not her zone. There weren't many people who could make her smile sincerely out of happiness/sentimentality. The amount was small enough for her to count in one hand. Or one finger. Mainly because it was only one.t.

Her sister, Naomi, was the only one who could get a sincere smile or laugh from Autumn. Even despite Autumn's hard-to-please attitude, Naomi was someone who would make her proud whatever she did.

Naomi, who would presumably get her Hogwarts letter next year. They already knew she wasn't a squib. During the summer, Naomi had owled Autumn what had felt like a thousand letters saying she had shown her first instance of magic. Autumn was still excited at the prospect. She and her sister, together, going to school. And Autumn was not exactly excitable.

She had just finished writing up a bi-weekly letter to Naomi, having had received Naomi's the morning before. She gave the letter to the owl and began heading out to her dorm, where she inevitably would end up studying at 3 am, ignoring her pocketwatch basically telling her to go to sleep. She planned on studying some Transfiguration and Herbology.

Emphasis on planned.

As she walked down the corridor, she was stopped by a blond Gryffindor, who spewed the most idiotic few lines of dialogue she had heard in the past week, and she had heard a few idiotic things in the past week.

"Hi there! I'm Marshal, and this charming fellow is Leonard. He couldn't stop talking about how stunningly gorgeous you are, so I figured I'd introduce the two of you."

It was so idiotic. It was so idiotic that Autumn could not help but slightly blush. However, it was more out of embarrassment than interest.

Before she could reply, she gave herself a second to process the situation and come up with the best possible reply.

One of the first things she noticed was the messy-haired Gryffindor, mainly because he had an energy about him that drew attention and kept it. Although he was her height, with the mischief in his eyes and the air of youthfullness he carried around him, Autumn almost immediately came to the conclusion that the boy was a first year.

The other boy, the one who was currently being presented as if he were some product, was Leonard. Autumn knew this because the Gryffindor, Marshal, had said it to her. Still, even without the introductions, Autumn knew who Leonard was. Maybe not his name, but she did know that he was in her year, and that he was a Slytherin. They were in the same year, and Autumn knew a bit about everyone in her year. It had taken a year to observe, listen to rumours and pair up with different people for each class project, but at least Autumn knew. She did know about more Hufflepuffs, though, due to it being her house, and less about Gryffindor, because she tended to... avoid the house's members. The Marshal kid was reminding her one of the reasons exactly why she did so.

What was even more evident was that Leonard looked extremely, extremely uncomfortable, as if he'd rather be anywhere else, and not at all as if he had talked about how stunningly gorgeous Autumn was. He looked too smart to use the phrase stunningly gorgeous. Although technically grammatically correct, it just... sounded wrong. Autumn did not know what it was about it that irritated her. Maybe it was that both stunning and gorgeous meant beautiful, so in a way it was as if to say "beautifully beautiful."

Leonard's unease was very directly contrasted by the Marshal kid looking like he was a golden retriever who had just been given access to all of the plush toys in the world. Autumn made a guess that this had been more his idea than Leonard's.

Autumn, finally having had gathered enough context from the situation, spoke in a sophisticated and charming manner, saying...

"Um."

Damn her and her lack of social skills.

Entering from the Owlery.
Mentioning @Marshal Mozor @Leonard Oaksworth @Autumn Ivy

October 10th, nice day, isn’t it? The day she was invited. Jumping down some stairs from the Owlery, Lindsey found herself rushing through the numerous corridors in Hogwarts. A rest in the common room would be fantastic. She missed the soft sofas and the warm fire in their common room, since Scotland in October was already a bit chilly.

Making her way through the crowds, the second year couldn’t stop thinking of the ball. It was her first dance, her first date! Quite exciting…right? She grinned. Hopefully everyone could be as lucky as herself. This would gonna to be an exciting night.

Her chocolate brown eyes sparkled, and wandered carelessly through the crowd, searching for people she knew. A flash of blond hair caught her. Marshal, isn’t it? Her lovely lion friend was there with someone, and seemed was quite pleasant. She smirked. Marshal was pretty outgoing, even more outgoing than herself, so she wasn’t really worried about his talent at making friends. That boy beside him seemed familiar as well…in fact, she fancied she knew him. Or knew him well. Leonard. A friend she met during her first year, who was a great philosopher, at least she believed so.

Why were the two together? Two of her closest friends? She hadn’t seen Leonard since they parted back in their first year — but Marshal was met during the summer camp. How could the two met? Maybe it’s during September, when she was busy dealing with other stuffs. Her September schedule was quite full, and had only met Marsh once one day morning in the beginning of the term. It sounded weird that a Slytherin like Leonard would like to make friends with Marshal. Especially when, they seemed quite close.

Lindsey suddenly felt that she had missed a bunch of things. Still, she was glad that one of her friend could appreciate another and actually became friends themselves even before she introduced them. Though she felt a bit out of orbit. Not with her friends during a whole month…what was she doing? Daydreaming?

She decided to venture further to greet the two. The must be surprised…to see her was acquainted with both of them. But no. Before she could even move, Marshal walked up. Though not to her. Obviously they hadn’t seen her, for who Marshal was trying to greet was another girl, whom Lindsey was pretty sure that was a Hufflepuff as well. She didn’t know her name exactly, but fancied that the girl was someone she had seen in the common room and had classes with.

Marshal started talking. “I'm Marshal, and this charming fellow is Leonard.” she heard him introducing the two. Mind you, Lindsey’s ears were extremely great. She was good at listening the things from a young age, thanks to the learning of music. So though Marshal was still some ways away from her, his words fell into her ears quite well.

What was he trying to do? Flirt? She had realized that her friend was quite good at flirting, while it wasn’t really a matter to the girl, she’s quite afraid that others were. Hopefully Marshal wouldn’t be punched or hexed…if so, she’d definitely come to rescue.

No. He wasn’t. At least Marshal wasn’t. Just listen. “He couldn't stop talking about how stunningly gorgeous you are, so I figured I'd introduce the two of you.” she knew that the “he” meant Leonard. But…in Lindsey’s opinion, everybody could be talking about how stunning a girl was, but Leonard couldn’t. Leonard was too serious and studious to talk like that.

She waited for the girl’s reply quietly. But no, she heard nothing. Maybe her voice was too weak? Or she just said…nothing? Slowly Lindsey moved to a corner, where she could capture the whole event better. She had to figure out what was going on between her friends and the girl…

Let the game begin.

Interacting w/ @Marshal Mozor & @Autumn Ivy | Mentioning: @Lindsey Springhall

Regret was a feeling Leonard felt often, very often. Barely a second after doing anything, the amount of second-guessing he did was enough to fill the average Manchester apartment building. The only exception to this was breathing, and even then, Marshal’s words made him stop inhaling for what was about four seconds. The other’s eagerness to even catch a glimpse of an actual dragon

“Marshal, what exactly is more exciting than taming fire-breathing reptiles?” He asked the question less in wonder, more in fear. While the boy’s excitement in everything was expected, this was a magical school, after all, the fact that this supposedly thrilling experience was actually about to happen was worrying.

Of course, one of the lion’s defining traits was his selective hearing. Even if he heard one’s question, if it was any sort of protest to what was about to happen, one’s words were basically falling onto a brick wall that was about to lead one to their doom. As the snake approached said doom in form of a human girl, he fumbled in his pockets for a piece of parchment and a quill. The very least he could do was write a will.

Alas, the awkwardness of the situation neither allowed him to find such materials nor escape the grasp of his acquaintance before arriving at their destination: a girl. A girl he didn’t recognise, and he suspected didn’t recognise Marshal either from her reaction. Really, she looked as confused and not-quite-horrified-but-something-close as the snake was. Other than that, alright to him. Oh, well, perhaps this wouldn’t be so bad, after all. While the other boy’s planning abilities were microscopic at best, perhaps he did actually think about this and choose a person Leonard would get along with easily, and even actually end up heading to the dance with. Perhaps they were going to have a good time.

Perhaps that was wishful thinking, since neither of the participants in the “asking out” process were unable to formulate a sentence with a hint of confidence.

“Uh, hey,” he held up a finger gun for no reason known to him other than to mimic the so-called romantic moves his father so loved, though in actuality this was shaping up to be more of a horror film. “It must’ve hurt when you got tossed out of heaven, yeah?”

Smooth. Very smooth.

♤♧ Say not that we age, but that our beauty develops with time ♧♤

@Leonard Oaksworth, @Autumn Ivy & @Lindsey Springhall

The love story had begun, Leonard being the unassuming, sufficiently charming protagonist who was about to get the girl, a random stranger being said girl, and Marshal being a supporting role, and yet the true hero in the marvelous romance that was about to unfold. The girl blushed as he presented Leo's alleged compliment, affirming his certainty that his job here was finished. She was even left speechless; it was quite adorable, really. The rest would be left to Leonard and his agile tongue.

Certainly, the Slytherin's tongue was not about to disappoint. He began strong with a simple greeting. Unfortunately, the interaction did not end there.
Upon hearing the beautifully butchered version of the pickup line that he had given his friend just moments before, Marshal didn't stand a chance. Before he had any opportunity to hold it in, a sudden and violent explosion of laughter burst from the Gryffindor's mouth. It was the single greatest thing that had ever graced his ears - and he had heard a lot of spectacular things, having grown up with his father.
Despite the effect the line might have on the girl, and no matter how this whole thing played out, it had all been worth it. He knew that this moment would be immortalized within his mind forever. Opportunities to flirt would come and go for Leo, but this experience was already priceless to Marshal.

He doubled over, clutching his stomach and turning away in one last effort not to distract the other two from their riveting conversation, though the attempt was clearly futile at that point in time. Everyone throughout the hall would easily hear his expression of mirth.
Of course the laughter wasn't meant to be insulting towards Leo in any way, and he would most likely feel bad about it later on, but he simply could not contain it, despite his attempts to do so. At times, he came close, the laughter dying down to nothing more than gleeful snickering before reverting back into a full-on guffaw, one hand clasped over his eyes the entire time in what appeared to be a drawn-out facepalm.
This continued for a solid minute before he gained control in earnest. Wiping a tear from one eye, he removed his hand and turned back to the girl, pure enjoyment still evident on his face.
"Irresistible, isn't he?" he patted Leo on the back, doing his very best to lend a bit of support, considering the situation. More than anything, he hoped his friend wouldn't crumble into a stammering pile of embarrassment and nerves... well, more than he already had. Marshal had to do whatever he could to salvage the situation. This girl had to tell Leo yes when he eventually got around to asking her to the dance. There wasn't another way this interaction was allowed to end. Therefore, she must be wooed, and if the intended wooer couldn't woo her, then his wing-man would do the wooing.
"Believe you me, you'll never meet another conversationalist quite like him," he continued. "Talking to him will be an experience you'll never forget."
Now, that was undeniable.

As he spoke, his eyes drifted beyond the stranger, naturally following the movement of students moving about behind her. As his gaze drifted, he spotted something, or rather, someone in particular. Someone that never failed to snatch his attention away from whatever it had previously been centered upon, and hold onto it with an iron grip.
He hadn't seen hide nor hair of Lindsey for a sizable amount of time; a fact that had distinctly bothered him, though he hadn't been sure what to do about it. After all, Hogwarts was a rather large castle, making it obnoxiously difficult to find a specific person, and disturbingly easy to get lost for days among the vast maze of corridors. Such would be a sadly underwhelming excuse for missing a multitude of classes, and an even more tragic death to experience, left to be found much later and become known as the fool who took a wrong turn at Albuquerque.

Marshal wanted nothing more than to say hello to his fair friend from Hufflepuff, but as of right now, Leonard needed him; badly. Besides, Lindsey seemed to be quite intrigued by their conversation, so perhaps she would stick around to the end.
He caught her eye, sending a quick smile in greeting before turning his attention back to the task at hand.

Mentioning: @Marshal Mozor, @Leonard Oaksworth, @Lindsey Springhall

English: #6B5076
Welsh: #9E8FB9
Uzbek: #874343

Autumn did not smile often.

However, she was feeling extremely tempted to do so as the Slytherin in front of her awkwardly finger-gunned and gauchely spoke. Maybe she had even felt the small, stupid impulse to laugh. But that would be pushing it. However, the situation was still awkward, and she hoped that maybe Leonard would not speak, and neither would she, and Mitchell, or whatever the hell his name was, would get tired and leave her alone.

"Uh, hey."

And it was at that moment when Autumn wondered whether the situation could get worse.

She vastly underestimated the boy.

“It must’ve hurt when you got tossed out of heaven, yeah?”

With a single mum in a world full of creeps, Autumn was not new to the line. However, he had added his own twist to it.

Autumn found that nice, even though it was probably a nervous mistake here.

On a better note, his comment- or maybe the time- brought back Autumn's usual wit and snark.

"No," she smirked with a raised eyebrow, "but I think I got a scratch or two climbing my way out from the depths of hell."

However, she doubted Miguel had heard her, considering he was clutching his stomach laughing. Or maybe he was laughing at her response. Who knew? However, patiently, she waited for his laughter to stop.

And she waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Honestly, she could leave right now.

But she didn't.

Instead, she waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the boy's laughter drowned down. He opened his mouth, and Autumn had a feeling that she would now regret not leaving while she could.

"Irresistible, isn't he?"

Autumn spoke sarcastically in response.

"He sure is."

Honestly, she felt kind of bad. Leonard looked extremely uncomfortable, possibly more uncomfortable than her, and he was being set up with a stranger, possibly against his will. Autumn doubted that that was enjoyable. And Maxwell was trying his hardest, but it was going fairly horrible for him. She hoped he would not feel bad when she inevitably had to reject his friend, because she knew that Montrell had not just said that his friend thought she was gorgeous simply to not ask her to the ball by the end of the conversation. So it was not going to well for anyone, really.

But apparently Montrel had not given up just yet.

"Believe you me, you'll never meet another conversationalist quite like him. Talking to him will be an experience you'll never forget."

Yes, that was one way to put it, Autumn supposed.

Marnel seemed so optimistic and enthusiastic about what was going on.

It deeply unsettled Autumn.

This was not going well for him, so why was he so happy?

She shook herself away from her thoughts when she noticed his eyes move beyond her. Without moving her face, she looked back, only to see a blob of a person, with a pile of yellow on the top of the figure. Autumn assumed it was hair. So, a blonde. She saw yellow and black on what she thought was their body. A Hufflepuff.

She really wanted to get a better look, but she was slightly afraid as to what would happen if she left Marzell out of her sight. Maybe nothing would happen, and maybe she would find herself tied to a tree, not being let out unless she professed undying love for Leonard or something.

She chose not to risk it.

Mentioning @Marshal Mozor @Leonard Oaksworth @Autumn Ivy

It was more of a question of whether to stay or not. Things were getting…well, a bit fierce. Fiercer than she had thought. Apparently the three people over there were not having a fight, but Lindsey doubted whether there would be one. Leonard was extremely uncomfortable — well, he should be, for she perceived that if the one staying there was her, she’d feel awkward as well.

Then she saw Marshal turning, and casted a smile towards the direction of her. Was he greeting her, by all means? Which meant that he had seen her? Or was it only by chance? From her heart she hoped that it could be the last guess. It was just a smile to her side by chance. Marsh hadn’t seen her there, which was good.

Embarrassing, huh? Either for her or the lion, it would be like that. On her hand she watched him introducing another friend of hers to a girl, while on his hand he found his friend watching him introducing a stranger to another stranger. Obviously Marshal didn’t, and wouldn’t know that she’s a friend (at least Lindsey believed so) of Leonard’s, so things would get…a bit difficult.

She couldn’t hear things clearly now. People were talking loudly, around her, and around them. The corridors of Hogwarts was always busy during breaks, so Lindsey wasn’t really surprised. From their facial expressions, she could guess that the conversation was getting more and more embarrassing over time. Marshal was definitely advertising Leonard, while Leonard was trying to leave the whole situation, and that girl trying to figure out what’s happening. Really, what’s going on?

It was truly a question. A question that she couldn’t answer. Staying here, watching three people talking seemed a waste of time, but Lindsey found it…well, intriguing. Leonard was always an intriguing guy, with his fun talks and deep thoughts. And Marshal was fun as well, which was a certain thing that you could never change. She didn’t know that girl well, though she perceived that she was not flirty at all — really, how could she be flirty?

But she found things…a bit too far. Leonard was inviting a girl to the dance. It’s happening. Clearly she knew that she already had a date, and a fantastic one, but it was still…well, she couldn’t explain it well. Things were going on too fast, and she felt that she couldn’t keep up with them.

Drawing back to the shadows again, her attention slowly came back to the trio. Maybe she could hear something this time…not only to guess their conversation by their expressions.

Interacting With: @Marshal Mozor and @Autumn Ivy | Mentioning: @Lindsey Springhall

As Leonard skimmed his mental folders, he found in utter disappointment and absolutely no surprise there was nothing related to romance. Even in his agendas for the later years in life (which at that point, were most likely to never be used), there was more about how to properly eat a sandwich than asking girls out. Perhaps because world dominance wasn't usually something to be shared. Perhaps because he'd never thought of going to events with anyone at his side, let alone going to an event at all. The only thing that had convinced him to do so this time around was the food and the stories he'd be able to tell to next year's newcomers in an effort to make himself an impressive figure. Clearly, though, the fame born of fighting mythical beasts wouldn't be much help if he was going to try and get a complete stranger who by her own words has climbed out of the underworld. After all, one could not brag about accomplishments if one were already dead.

Even if the Slytherin's knowledge about inviting people to grand balls was scarce, he was certain the response he got for his falling-out-of-heaven line was not the expected one. And for some reason, the very boy who'd gotten him into this mess was laughing about it, though which comment had elicited the reaction was a mystery. Marshal meant well, he knew, but intentions did not excuse the fact there was a girl who was standing in front of him courtesy the Gryffindor, and he was expected to charm the girl into going with him to the Fall Ball despite the said girl being a stranger until barely a minute prior.

"That's nice," he replied over the roaring laughter. He then cleared his throat, hurrying to expand on his statement before a fate worse than being thrown down there came upon him. "I mean, it's not nice, of course. Hell isn't a nice place, from what I know. I've never been there, so I wouldn't really know much, but I go to school here, which is close enough."

As quickly as the utterances left his mouth, Leonard's growing feeling of wanting to slap himself and Marshal reached its peak. Or at least, he thought it had. He was swiftly proven wrong, though, when Marshal tried to get a compliment out of his not-date. It was truly impossible, it seemed, for the Gryffindor to not embarrass him greatly every other second. No matter, he thought, taking a deep breath and pulling his shirt down. If he was going to charm someone, he was going to do it his way, not Marshal's or his father's. Not with the bad puns he couldn't tell correctly, but with flattery made of lies. His specialty.

"What I mean to say is, I believe anyone who's able to get out of such a place with barely any scratches is someone brave. Someone who I'd like to know more about," those sentences weren't exactly false, but they weren't exactly true either. Sure, getting to know her better wasn't something he was against, but he'd much rather bolt from the castle and live in the woods for the time being than anything else. "So, if you don't have anything else to do, I would like to get to know you better at the next dance. Well, not exactly dance, you should know I'm terrible at that. But we can steal food together."

"And of course my buddy Marshal would be there as well," he grabbed the boy with his arm, encompassing them in a tighter one-handed clutch.

"I mean, we'd have to thank the lad that made us meet in the first place, yeah? I'm sure he'd be thrilled to join us," hugging Marshal tighter, he used the affection as a diversion, an opportunity to stomp on the blonde's foot as hard as he could. "Wouldn't you, Marshal? You can bring any girl you want to. Well, if you manage to get one, that is. Always got to consider the possibilities."

The last part of his sentence was said with a smile despite the rather rude contents. In any other case, Leonard would've felt bad about doing so, but it would be excused this time by the jury of his mind, considering everything that happened so far in the uncomfortable conversation.

♤♧ Say not that we age, but that our beauty develops with time ♧♤

@Autumn Ivy, @Leonard Oaksworth & @Lindsey Springhall

All in all, his plan had certainly resulted in a very interesting experience, if nothing else. He was certain that he could never hope to top Leonard's pickup line, even if he were to devote the entirety of his remaining life to that very purpose - and he just might.
The girl said something about the depths of hell, which Marshal found to be an unusual response in such a situation... or any situation, for that matter. But he moved past it without a third thought. After all, she would be Leonard's date; the Slytherin could worry about those implications himself.
Evidently, Leo felt the need to jump straight into the topic, as he spoke on it rather extensively, basically referring to Hogwarts as the closest thing to hell that he could picture in the process. At that comment, Marshal glanced around the corridor. He was feeling a bit warm...

His fork-tongued friend wasn't finished, either, as he went on to turn the heated subject into a half-decent compliment.
Good, Leo. Very good, he said mentally, eyeing the other boy like a proud father watching his son best his first demon... or something like that. He narrowed his eyes. Stop talking about hell, Leo.
Marshal could easily be described as an opportunistic flatterer. He could take virtually any piece of conversation and spin it into a compliment, and he prided himself on the ability, as his father had taught him. But even he had never quite imagined a scenario wherein a comment about the depths of hell could be turned into something positive.
One point for Leo.
The Slytherin followed up the compliment by formally asking the girl to the upcoming dance, and Marshal inwardly performed a jig, though the celebration was promptly cut short by Leonard's suggestion of an alternative to dancing. He really needed to ask his friend some serious questions... Then again, being serious was basically impossible for the blond-haired Gryffindor, so it would most likely be forgotten instead.

Leonard then grabbed hold of Marshal's arm. Seeing as Leo wasn't normally one to initiate physical contact, the tight embrace came as a surprise, but a welcome one.
"Of course I'll be there! he inserted enthusiastically, throwing his own arm around his friend's shoulders. "Ten dragons couldn't keep me away from all that f-AGH-" His sentence was rudely interrupted by a sudden jolt of pain in his foot, his eyes crossing slightly as he jerked it away. However, his gaze never even left the girl they had just met, and his grin faltered only for a second before returning in full force, as if nothing had happened at all.
"I'd definitely stay away from the dance floor with this guy," he continued cheerily, giving Leo an affectionate pat on the shoulder. "He never knows where his feet are. In fact, I'm really worried he might step in a hole sooner or later. Watch and see that he doesn't trip, won't you?"
A light, joking tone coated his words. He knew that it was quite possible the other boy had tread upon his foot by design, especially given the force with which it had been crushed. But he was willing to give the snake the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps the boy had merely stumbled and been forced to plant his boot hard on the ground, unfortunately finding Marshal's unsuspecting toes by accident. No harm done.
"Oh, I'll find myself a date. Don't you worry about that, Leo. I may not be as handsome, brilliant, witty or charming as you, but I think I'll manage."
The more he built his clumsy friend up, the better.

Suddenly, the Gryffindor's hazel eyes widened as he came to a realization. "My goodness! Here Leo is, asking you to come to the dance with..." he glanced at Leo, the corners of his mouth twitching, "us, and we don't even know your name! Might you grace our ears with it?"