`TANP, TTOOO

[liam elijah corrigan]

It was one o'clock in the morning, and it was cold in the dungeons, and Liam had a perfectly comfortable bed waiting up for him in his Hufflepuff dormitory. He could be up there right now. He could be up there safe and sound and sleeping. It would be wonderful; it would be glorious. Hell. He could even be up there studying for Potions, and he wouldn't really give a damn. It wasn't that Liam actually enjoyed Potions; it was just that he really, really didn't enjoy the dungeons. After all, they were dark, damp, and a bit dangerous, especially to a Mudblood Hufflepuff who was roaming around alone. The Slytherins didn't like him anyway, not since he'd hurled himself at one of their Beaters in last year's Qudditch match, and, although they tended to respect his Prefect badge enough to leave him alone during the day, they probably wouldn't welcome him down here, practically in their little lair, this late at night.

But Liam was here anyway.

Liam wasn't brave. Not really. Not in the arrogant, mindless Gryffindor sense of the word. He didn't throw himself in front of rampaging trolls just to show how courageous he truly was. He kept his head down most of the time, and he didn't like the spotlight. He left the heroism for the kids in crimson. Blood stood out more against goldenrod than it did against crimson, and Liam didn't have the spare galleons to pay extravagant cleaning fees. Liam Corrigan wasn't the kind of brave that sent him running head first into trouble, but he was the kind of quietly determined that kept him rooted to the spot when trouble found him. The Slytherins didn't like him, and Liam didn't care. It was his job to make sure the other students didn't break curfew, and he was going to do his job, regardless of whose feathers it ruffled.

To be fair, there were other places he could be doing his job. He could be doing an intense investigation of the kitchens around now, and absolutely nobody would mind. Or he could go to the library to make sure no errant student was doing something truly nefarious such as studying this early on a Saturday morning. He could go check on the various towers at Hogwarts but that was bound to turn up at least one overly lovestruck couple, and Liam actually preferred the annoyance of bickering with some belligerent Slytherin to the awkwardness of breaking up a blushing couple. So. So, here he was. Wandering through Slytherin territory, where he was very much unwelcome and very much unwanted, and he heard footsteps. He came to a stop, tilting his head back and narrowing his eyes, and he watched the hallway, waiting to see who appeared.

[isabelle skye worthington]

She was hungry. An apple and a cup of green tea had sufficed as a midnight snack, well okay so it was a little later than midnight, but whatever. The time didn't really matter, not to Isabelle anyway. She had friends, Slytherin friends who were prefects and could get her out of any trouble. Not that Izzie was scared of other prefects, she could care less. Besides, the only prefect that would be down patrolling the dungeons would be a Slytherin. What student would be stupid enough to patrol down there if they weren't a Slytherin? Most Slytherins were horrible to other houses, and sometimes Isabelle could be like any other Slytherin. But she was friends with a Ravenclaw and a Gryffindor, and even a sixth year Hufflepuff... sometimes anyway. Really the whole Slytherins were superior to everyone didn't apply to Izzie, most times.

Her feet tread over the stone path that lead to her common room, she tried to be as quiet as possible. She wasn't exactly sure why she was being quiet, but she was anyway. Why make a bunch of noise and wake up someone who didn't need to be woken up? Not that she could get in a whole lot of trouble, she was a Slytherin after all. They could practically talk their way out of anything. Well, some of them could anyway. Some of them could be just plain stupid.

Her brown eyes stopped on a semi familiar person. He wasn't a Slytherin. She stopped close to him and looked him over. "Well, well, what's a Hufflepuff like you doing patrolling the dungeons?" Her gaze moved from him to the path she needed to take. Izzie could have easily dodged the prefect, but she wasn't quite tired. She could have a little fun with this. "I don't know whether I should be calling you brave, or stupid." She stopped for a moment, trying to figure out why the boy looked so familiar to her. Then it hit her. "Corrigan, right? I think you're in my herbology class." Izzie said, smiling slightly, though she was sure it was more of a grin. In her head, she gave the boy props. A Hufflepuff near the Slytherin common room, it was a pretty ballsy move.

[liam elijah corrigan]

Isabella Worthington turned the corner, and Liam blinked, frowning lightly. He didn't...he didn't really have an issue with Worthington. He detested most of the Slytherins, and he was fully prepared to distrust anyone who had the grave misfortune of wearing green robes. But distrust was different from dislike. Liam was wary of Slytherins, but he was still a Hufflepuff. He was fair. He was fair to a fault. And Isabelle Worthington hadn't done anything particularly nasty to him. He'd remember if she had. Liam wasn't the smartest boy in school, but he did well enough for himself due to his excellent memory. Liam never forgot a face; he never forgot a kind act or a slight, either, and while Isabelle hadn't done anything particularly nice to Liam, she hadn't exactly done anything to warrant his resentment, either.

So he studied her as she stepped closer to him, unconsciously turning the slightest bit in order to put his back towards the wall. He might be a Hufflepuff with bad bloodlines wandering alone in Slytherin territory, but he wasn't stupid. He knew from experience that Slytherins were a clever, calculating, cowardly bunch. They'd get you in the back, if they could, and Liam didn't have a problem with Isabelle, but he wasn't stupid enough to give her the opportunity to start one. He tilted his head when she spoke the first time, merely quirking a brow at her in silence. His Prefect badge was on his robes where it belonged; it was obvious what he was doing here. Liam preferred not to answer stupid questions. Her next comment only made his other eyebrow arch upwards as well. Brave or stupid? He was neither. He was just doing his job.

He hesitated when she recognized him. He hadn't expected that. They'd been in the same classes for seven years, of course, but Liam had made an art out of fading into the background. He hadn't really made many friends until his third year, and he hadn't befriended anyone outside of his house until his fifth year. It wasn't surprising that it took her this long to realize who he was; it was surprising that she'd recognized him at all. He nodded at her, politely, and a smile, a bit tighter than hers and fairly uncertain, briefly crossed his face. "Worthington..." He said, his tone kept carefully neutral. "You know you're not supposed to be out this late."

[isabelle skye worthington]

With amused eyes, Izzie watched as the boy backed himself toward the wall. Like she was going to hurt him. She might be a Slytherin, but she wasn't cruel enough to just hex someone to hell for no reason. She did have some morals, as unbelievable as that might be. Her own brow quirked in surprise. Huh. So the Hufflepuff knew her. Interesting. She didn't think Hufflepuffs tended to remember Slytherins, well maybe those that tormented them. But Izzie hadn't done anything to Liam. Not that she could remember. She tended to stay neutral, well tried to anyway. Sure, she slipped sometimes but it was rare. She was certainly better mannered then most of her Slytherin friends. And she never thought of that as a bad thing. After all, Hogwarts was only one part of her life.

“That's true.” Was all Isabelle said in reply. She watched Liam for a few seconds. “Going to give me a detention?” Izzie asked, smirking slightly. “I could give you a bit of company, if you wanted. Must be awful lonely out here on your own. No one to talk to, nothing to do but stand around and watch for nasty little rule breakers like myself.” Izzie's brown eyes were a shade lighter, a coy smile on her face. This was what Audrey often called her 'game face.' Izzie usually only got this face when she was flirting, and having fun doing it. Hey, she was a girl after all.

“You know, I always wondered why they never made me a Slytherin prefect. Might be because of the whole, ditching classes thing.” Izzie shrugged, thinking nothing of it. “It's only the less useful classes. Divination, Care of Magic Creatures, those sort of classes.” She leaned up against the wall across from Liam. “You ever skip a class or two, Liam?” She referred to the boy as if they were old friends, which they weren't. But that was all part of the fun. “Probably not. Hufflepuffs tend to be good little students, or is that Ravenclaws? I can never really remember.” Isabelle knew she could be wrong, but if the boy had skipped a few classes, she'd be surprised. Truly. And she was sure some Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws skipped classes every once in a while, she guessed. What student didn't every once in a while? Still there were some students that found the act of skipping to be appalling. Whatever, Izzie didn't really care what they thought.

[liam elijah corrigan]

Liam's mouth thinned a little when she mentioned detention. As a Prefect, he didn't actually have that kind of authority. He could take house points but that was all. And Liam didn't like to do that. The whole deducting house points thing get fairly messy fairly fast. He had a difficult time taking points from his own house, and he tended to want to take more points from Slytherin than was strictly necessary. And Liam didn't like to act unfairly. Instead, he just shied away from that whole circus and stuck to ordering people around with his best "serious Prefect" face on. Usually, that worked well enough. But Isabelle only smirked at him and, even if Liam wasn't making his best impatient grimace, he didn't think she'd be terribly impressed by it anyway.

And did he...did he want company? He blinked, startled, and studied her, searching for some hint of mockery. He didn't find it, but that didn't really mean anything. If she wasn't making fun of him, she was probably trying to manipulate him. Liam tilted his head to the side and looked down, leaning back against the wall and crossing his arms over his chest. His body language was closed off and uninterested, but he glanced up when she mentioned the word "lonely." He wasn't. Liam had been alone for longer than this without it bothering him. But there was something about the way that she said it that made him feel like he was being teased. He took in her coy smile, analyzed it, and shot a smile back at her, just to test the situation. It was one of his shy, sheepish sort of smiles; the kind of smile that had charmed him out of what little trouble he'd gotten into in the past. It was a little more strained, a little more skittish than usual, but he figured that matched the situation.

He listened as she talked, not feeling any inclination to talk himself. She seemed perfectly happy to do enough talking for both of them, and Liam had never been much of a chatter. Not with people he hardly knew, anyway. He shrugged when she wondered why she hadn't been chosen as a Prefect. It was probably because the Slytherin Head of House wanted someone more coldly ambitious, but he didn't see how pointing that out would benefit the conversation. Instead, he kept silent until it was obvious that she was waiting for an answer. Had he skipped class before? "Only once." He said. "One of my friends was sick." And why was he telling her anyway? "Do you...is there some sort of reason you're out this late, Isabelle?" And he probably should've called her Worthington, but...oh, well. It didn't matter. Not really.

[isabelle skye worthington]

Liam's silence was fascinating. She'd never had a one sided conversation before. It was an interesting experience. She didn't exactly expect him to actively talk, but she had expected some sort of reply. But nothing was said by him. It was slightly frustrating, yet still fascination. She crossed her arms over her chest and used her foot to push herself up off the wall. Well, two could play at the whole silent thing. She walked slowly toward the Hufflepuff, her eyes trailing over him slowly. She'd never wanted to get under someone's skin so bad. She wanted him to talk, to say anything, even if was just to tell her to go away. Something was better than nothing, anyway. She stopped a few steps from him, still silently watching him.

“I don't think that counts as skipping. You were helping someone out. You've never actually skipped a class? Just because?” Izzie shook her head. “It's a pity. You should try it. Might be good for that goody two shoes image. Unless, you actually like that.” And he probably did. He seemed like the type of guy who liked a good image. But what did Izzie know? She didn't know the boy at all. “I was hungry.” She offered innocently. And it was the truth, that and she was tired of being cooped up in her room. “Okay, that and I was bored. Needed a bit of fun. Never thought I'd run into a Hufflepuff though. Especially in Slytherin territory. Still can't decide if you're stupid or brave.” She paused in thought. “What about Corrigan? Why did you decide to patrol the Slytherin dungeons? Dangerous place for a Hufflepuff to be.”

And then she fell silent again. She leaned against the wall beside Liam, smiling at him. He was an interesting guy, well he seemed like he'd be. If he'd say anything beside a few words. Izzie decided then and there to break the guy, to make him talk... to befriend him. She was unusually curious about the Hufflepuff prefect. This could be fun, and just the challenge Izzie had been looking for. And down here, where no one was around, she could be open with him. If she chose to. Which she probably would. Isabelle didn't have anything to hide, not that she could think of really. It was a known fact that she could be a bitch, that she was friends with a few people in other houses, that she didn't care what other Slytherins thought of her, she was cocky, and when she set her mind to something she followed through. Whether those things were good or bad, it all depended on who you asked. But Izzie tended to not care what everyone else thought.