| Details for Date Dump Date |
| Summary: | Ripley, Leander, Lois and Clark (you know - that Hufflepuff no one recognizes when he isn't wearing the big ugly glasses) have an Encounter. Leander sets a land speed record for getting a date, getting dumped, and getting a date again. |
| Date: | 09/26/1937 |
| Location: | Lake Shore, Hogwarts |
| Related: | Danse Macabre |
| Characters |
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Ripley shrugs a bit and turns to look at his brother, "Just thinking." As he tosses another rock. "So. You got a date?" He asks, turning around a little to look at his brother.
Leander stares at Ripley in turn. Eventually he picks up a rock and throws it into the lake. It hits the surface of the water with a loud 'sploosh', defying his attempt to skip it. "…yeah. How'd you know it'd work?" He frowns, glancing sidelong at his twin. "I mean, not /after/ she said yes. Before. How'd you know?"
Ripley shrugs his shoulders, "I played the ass and you play the good guy." He turns to look back out at the lake, "Besides, she's a nice gal and I want you to be happy." He tosses another rock, skipping it across the lake. "I mean, you gotta go through her and break her heart before I sweep in and take her off her feet and all." He says and his twin would know he was clearly teasing.
"You /are/ the ass and I'm the good guy," Leander drawls, grinning just a bit as he does. "Sometimes I just don't get you, though. I mean, aren't people like us-" By this, he obvious means twins… "aren't we /always/ supposed to get each other?" He picks up another rock and throws it /hard/. This time it does skip, three jumps. "It's unfair. You can always get girls. You look /exactly/ like me, but… with me, it's so hard."
Ripley shrugs his shoulders, "I have the bluster." He says and shakes his head. "You need confidence. That's the main issue. You don't think you can get the girl. I know I can." He shrugs again, "Hey. You got the girl. You are going to the dance with Lois. What are you complaining about?" He looks back to the lake, "I got nobody."
Speaking of certain nice gals, it turns out the twins aren't the only people who have reason to be out by the Lake this evening. A little further down the shoreline (within sight, but just out of earshot), Lois ambles into view. Her companion: a certain tall, dark-haired young Hufflepuff. You know: the guy everyone only remembers by his ugly glasses, despite the big burly shoulders and strong jaw. They are, rather obviously, discussing something, postures awkward and strained.
"Bullshit," Leander says, his expression somehow both grim and light at the same time. "I mean, yes. I did. But it was only because of you, not me. And meanwhile… what do you mean, you've got /nobody/?" The Slytherin looks at his twin with a deep frown. "You've got /everybody/." And that is when he notices another pair of students down the stretch of beach; he straightens up, his fists clenching slightly. "…bollocks. Look, it's that stupid bloody Hufflepuff."
Ripley turns and looks down the beach, "And?" Ripley responds quite simply.
A story, told in mime: Lois and Clark come to a halt by a willow tree on the bank, the girl walking just a little closer to the water's edge and staring down at it. Presumably, the twins have /not/ been noticed. Behind her, the Hufflepuff watches: they're too far away for the fine details of expression to be clear, but that's a lovelorn posture if there ever was one. Still looking out the water, the prefect starts gesturing, movements fluttery, only to have her movements arrested by Clark grabbing her hand. Posture: determined. Lois's posture: awkward awkward awkward awkward awkward.
Ripley gives a little smirk, "He wants her. She doesn't want him." He states simply. "Basically, he asked her to the dance and she wants to go with you. So stop being all flighty. You won."
Leander stand on the shore for several moments, hesitant. Then, eventually, he looks at Ripley and smiles grimly. He walks down the line of the beach towards the Gryffindor Prefect, his expression dark… and his hand actually goes towards the wand tucked into his robe, despite that fact that it's probably hardly needed. "Hey, Clark." The Slytherin smiles, waiting until the Hufflepuff (stupidly dashing bastard!) notices him. "Stupefy."
<FS3> Leander rolls Om: Good Success.
The conversation he walks into goes a bit like this:
"- Listen, of /course/ we can be friends, but it's just… Well, look, you're /always/ darting off places, and you /did/ leave me hanging at the Yule Ball last year, don't you remember? That was /humiliating/. And you've never once explained why!"
"Listen, Lois, I had a good reason for that. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, only it's just that, well -" Clark reaches up to take off his glasses, expression determined. Naturally, this is at the exact moment he is Stupefied.
"What the /blazes/!" yelps Lois. Whirling to see the source of the hex, her eyes widen. "/Leander/?"
Ripley watches his brother as he approaches the situation and as the other twin reaches for his wand, he places his head into his hand and sighs. Speaking low, "You don't have to do that…" He chuckles and just watches as the train goes rolling towards certain doom.
In response, Leander turns a very dark shade of red. He spares a glance back at Ripley, but it's too late by now - Clark is already collapsing on the sand. "Sorry, Lois!" he calls out, walking towards her with grim determination. The Slytherin stares down at the form of the collapsed Hufflepuff on the beach. "It's just that - I mean, look, it's /Clark/." He waves his hands in a vague 'this fellow is the epitomy of boring non-excitement!' way, and then smiles nervously at her. As long as the guy is out, though, he clears his throat and motions back down the beach. "…wanna take a walk?"
"What," says Lois, staring wide-eyed. "/What/." Poor Clark hits the ground like a pile of bricks (how is it no one ever notices how built the guy is?), and her first reaction… well, she /does/ want to be a Healer, after all. Perhaps it's not surprising her first reaction is to squeak in horror and rush to check up on him. "You just Stupefied my ex-boyfriend!" the girl complains, voice loud enough to startle birds out of the nearby trees. "Why did you just Stupefy my ex-boyfriend, you idiot?! He did nothing to you!"
Ripley rises to his feet and begins to make his way down the beach. He comes close, looks down at the stupified Clark and then looks to Leander and slolwy begins to shake his head, "Now who is the ass?" He states and looks to Lois down by Clark and shakes his head, "So." He begins, "Lois. Want to go to the dance?" He says, deadpanned.
"Oh god," Leander says. He's been turning a lot of colors tonight, and it's time to go back to white. "I'm so sorry!" He's the type of guy who would have made a great Prefect - if he hadn't been so busy studying - and he runs over to Clark's side, kneeling and examining the poor fellow with solemn attention. "I think he's okay. Shit. I'm /really/ sorry." Still beat-red, Leander straightens up after a few moments, turning to Lois and trying to ignore the amazingly loud pounding of his heart in his ears. He's astoundingly aware of the presence of Clark, Stupefied but probably still aware, only several feet away. "I'm so sorry. You'll still go to the dance with me, won't you?" … And, Ripley, in turn, gets a heated glare. A death-glare.
Lois looks up from kneeling on the ground besides the unfortunate Hufflepuff, pretty face contorted in fury. It's not often that the Gryffindor truly loses her temper (she's probably one of the leveler heads in her whole House, honestly), but when she does… uh… Well, let's just say her voice has gone up a decibel or so. "How /dare/ you even /dream/ - I don't know what I was even thinking, saying yes, if this is the first thing you think to do when you see me talking to someone, you awful little…" When the question is asked, she trails off. And simply STARES. Finally: "Get going before I Stupefy the pair of you and drop you in the /Lake/."
Ripley watches as Lois has her meltdown, still just standing there and looking at the woman. He purses his lips and wavers about on his feet for a moment as he waits for her to finish yelling, "Lois. Look. Never heard the boy speak of any other girl than you. He's infatuated and really interested." His voice is calm and clear as he does this, looking right at Lois, "This Clark guy, while I am sure is a decent fellow left you at a dance as you said. Strike one. He grabbed you when you didn't want him to. Strike two. See. Jae here was trying to protect you from the big lug." Ripley shrugs his shoulders, "If you can't see that then that is your problem." He slowly shakes his head as he looks to Clark, "I don't see how you can think this guy is so super when he puts his hands on you like that. He could have gone off and made you fly or something."
"I—-" Leander stares, his eyes wide. It's as if he's just realized what he's done - which he has. He looks down at the Hufflepuff, then at his wand, then at Lois. "I thought… I thought he was being untowards! I wanted to /protect/ ygou!" he says. If he had more time, he'd probably explain a good bit more, but no such luck. He doesn't turn and run, anyway; instead, he very slowly drops his wand to his side, turns back towards Ripley, and trudges. At this point - probably to his own detriment - he isn't even looking back at the Gryffindor. "Come on. Let's go, it's over. I screwed up."
Ripley's words are calm and sensible. Leander's apology is sincere and earnest. Lois is not, alas, prepared to appreciate either of these things: she's kneeling over Clark's inert form like a lioness snarling at a hyena over a dead wildebeest. "Stop running your damn fool mouth off, Fox! He would have backed down in a minute, he's /sweet/, not that I'd expect YOU to understand. /Both/ of you, just - just leave me /alone/. I can't think straight, I'm so furious." Voice lowering, she mutters: "Poor Clark, where is my /wand/, I had in my sleeve just a bit ago…" Turning her eyes from them in obvious dismissal, the girl starts hastily rummaging through her robes.
Ripley gestures, "Whoa. Now. Calm down." as he approaches and starts to help her look for the wand, "Look. He was just trying to protect you." He defends his brother, "Give him another chance. Just one."
Leander stares at the prone form of the Hufflepuff for a moment. He seems to have been completely stunned by Lois's harsh words. But, eventually, he turns from his path towards his brother back towards the Gryffindor and her erstwhile companion, his lips twisting down into a deep and unhappy frown. Marching back, he goes to a knee and sets his wand to the Hufflepuff's side. "Rennervate." As much as he might /hate/ doing that, he does, and he suspects it will work, too. His dark eyes go towards the Prefect hopelessly. "Sorry, Lois."
There is a point in anger, in some people, where a rage builds up so much that it circles right around into a sort of existential exasperation. Lois, struggling to find her wand (she's actually sitting on it), has just reached that point. "Why. Why can't boys ever back OFF?" the Gryffindor complains, throwing her hands up in the air. "You're as bad at taking a hint as Clark!" Leander, happening to catch her eye, gets scowled at too, though it is (oddly) a little less heated. "If you were in my House I'd've docked twenty points for all this! But /fine/. FINE. I'll go to the bloody dance if it's so bloody important to you, but please, just, /both/ of you, I can handle it from here, and - and -" Well, at least the torrent of words stops when Leander casts the counter. Clark, head by Lois's knees, gives a slight groan, glasses askew.
Ripley is feeling around and well, the boy reaches his hand up and under Lois' bum and gets a little silly grin on his face. He tries to be suave about it but he could easily be caught doing it. Still, he finds the wand and pulls it out, "This it?" As he gives a little grin and then in a point of madness leans in and places a kiss on her cheek and rolls backwards to get away from any sort of backlash.
For his own part, Leander seems oblivious. He stands up after having revived with the Hufflepuff, looks at Ripley with some degree of exasperation… then at Lois. "…okay. Thanks - I'm sorry!" he almost squeaks, then shoves his wand back into his robe and sets off down the beach without any regard for his twin whatsoever.
"GAH." Lois, who can hardly fail to realize where her wand was /now/, does not slap Ripley, dearly through he just earned it. She does, however, instinctively slam her palm down in surprise - which happens to be into Clark's shoulder, eliciting a groan from the Hufflepuff. (Poor guy just can't win, can he?) "FOX," comes the holler. "OUT. OUT OF MY - ah, you're awake!" That's to Clark, who is. "Here, don't try to sit up too fast, you'll get dizzy…" With a patient to care for, the two Slytherin brothers have clearly been dismissed from her attention. But Leander still has his date, so there's… that, at least?
Ripley turns and makes his way back to his feet and looks back to Lois with a grin. He runs a little bit and catches up with his brother. "You so totally missed that." he grins, "She's got a really nice butt."