This isn't a date, honest! Unless you want it to be...

Oralie Slughorn
Outfit

Karel had been planning to come to Hogsmeade just like always. It was the few chances he got during term time to see his mother and check up on how she was doing and how she was dealing with things. Occasionally his father would tag along, but that wasn't as often as with his mother and Karel was fine with that. He cared for his dad and he had a bond with him, he wouldn't deny that. But if he was given the choice to spend the day with his mother or his father, she'd always win out. However, though, today was different. He was still coming to visit his mother but that wasn't until much later. No, today he was spending the day with Oralie; he hadn't told his mother that was why he'd planned to meet her much later in the day than usual. He didn't want questions asked or awkwardness to arise between him and Oralie if his mother mistook them as dating. Sure they flirted, made out and shagged but that didn't mean they were dating. And his feelings? They were just lust, there was no way he could be falling for Oralie.

He'd decided to wait by the double doors leading out onto the grounds for Oralie, if he was spending the day in Hogsmeade with her, then he may as well be a gentleman and walk with her there as opposed to just meeting her there, it would be kind of pointless and incredibly improper of him and he really didn't want to get on the wrong side of the blonde witch, not when he was finding himself get closer to her. The wizard had decided to dress down today, he didn't want it to seem like a formal event, sure it would probably seem odd for people to see him wearing jeans, but today he wasn't setting out to intimidate people or look down on them. He wasn't looking for business, he just wanted to spend time with the blonde. 

Karel fastened the buttons of his plaid jacket up as he waited for the witch, he was looking forward to being able to relax and unwind and he'd made a decision the night before that he wanted to treat the witch, with the dance coming up soon, he knew that girls seemed to love being showered with gifts for the big night and if that was what Oralie wanted, Karel would be happy to oblige; he wanted to treat her and to spoil her. Admittedly, he had a bit of an ulterior motive. He wanted to win the witches favour, to charm her but he also knew that she was far from a traditional lady. Sure, she liked some of the traditional things. But she was also different, their many late night hookups had proven as such for him. 

Karel glanced up when he heard someone approaching and he smiled when he finally saw Oralie coming towards him, he was finding it much harder to just smirk when he was around her. She always seemed to manage to get him grinning from ear to ear and then the butterflies were starting again. He swallowed hard and let his gaze run over her as he closed the gap between them, "You look lovely, Lie. Are you ready to go?" He asked, his voice quivering ever so slightly, Merlin this witch had such an extreme effect on him. 

I CAN BE

another reason you're up at night

I can be all the things you thought she might

It was Hogsmeade weekend. That had meant a lot more to Oralie when she had not been able to leave the school for her internship. Now, it was just an opportunity to hang out with people still in school outside the castle--which was still great, but not nearly as important to her maintaining her sanity. She had time away from all the pettiness of the school now. It made this year the best one she had ever had during her time at Hogwarts, despite the fact the Epidemic had come and stolen the magic from her brothers and mother. The sickness had not made Isidore any less strict.

Oralie had a very odd relationship with her mother. First, she was not to call her mum, but Isidore...and not just because the woman had a position of authority at Avalon. That had nothing to do with. Mother or Mum made Isidore feel old and unattractive. She did not like it. So, Oralie addressed her by the woman's given name or her formal title of Lady Slughorn. They did not cohabitant either. Oralie lived with her cousin, who she called her aunt--Mellie Burke. Melanie acted as her guardian and mentor, as they shared a unique inherited ability.

The Slughorn was particularly nervous about the possibility of eventually contracting the Epidemic because of what she shared with the woman. Losing magic had led to Melanie losing all control over her sight. Auras had grown so bright and dominating that she was essentially blind. Since it was much better to be prepared for worst that the future might hold, the private lessons with Mel that had once been dedicated to mastering aura reading, not included learning to read Braille. It was much more difficult than Oralie had ever imagined it might be. She desperately hoped that it would all be unnecessary and protections against and a cure for this bizarre plague would be found before she contracted it. Age seemed to protect her for now. It wouldn't always though...

Her life wasn't filled with worries and anxiety, however. The witch had distractions. Ballet, despite the way her mother tarnished dancing, took a great deal of time and discipline. Quidditch, too, of course, despite the disaster that was this season. No matter how many snitches she caught, she was not doing it quickly enough to make up for the foul playing coming from the Slytherin keepers. Better not to even think on that today. It was to be a good day...a day spent with Karel. He was the most delightful distraction she had in her life at the moment. Her crush was still troubling. It bothered her more than she would ever admit. Surely, it would pass though.

Shagging would help her work through the feelings until they faded. Right? ...right. She was going to keep telling herself that, anyway. And her being into him had absolutely nothing to do with her taking a Manegro Potion this morning to put some length on her blonde hair--it hung considerably longer than normal, in loose ringlets over her shoulders and down her back. Those pesky feelings had not had anything to do with the thirty different dresses she had tried on today either. She just wasn't feeling any of those other outfits. It had nothing to do with what Karel might think about them.

She also absolutely, totally was not feeling any butterflies in her stomach when she spotted him waiting for her. She was just hungry. That was all that was. She hadn't gone to breakfast. That had to be it. But the way he was grinning at her paired with the migration of his eyes over her, it caught her breath. It raced her heart. It twisted her smirk into a wide smile. She tried to reign herself back under control, forcing an inhale and exhale before trying to put that signature smirk back onto her face as best she was able.

"Thanks, I just threw something on when I saw the time. Sorry if I kept you waiting, I got caught up working on an AR translation," she fed the boy a lie about how she had spent her time before showing up flawlessly, with perfect confidence and normal delivery, giving Karel no reason to think she was telling him anything except the truth. She had finished her Ancient Runes the day it had been assigned, though. She never had revision to do on the weekend, but she often said she did to avoid unwanted socialization...so, Karel had seen her give the excuse to others (never to him, of course) that she was busy revising over one of the weekend days.

The witch nodded in response to his question. "I am. If you would be interested, I was feeling lunch at the Hogs Head." She did not mention she had missed breakfast, and prayed to all the gods she had learned about in mythology, but never believed in that her stomach wouldn't growl. That would not be ladylike at all--and totally embarrassing.  

_{@ totally just a friend ♔ appearance ♔ 840}

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

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Not a Date, Date

You're my favourite dream and worst nightmare.

Pretending was second nature to Karel. He pretended to care, he pretended to be interested in other people’s issues but at the end of the day, Karel Higgs only cared about his family and a few select other people. The extent of his care for other people was minimal at best and only when it could benefit him. When people thought you cared, they allowed themselves to become vulnerable and that process meant that they let secrets slip and secrets, well? That was his favourite thing, it was music to his ears. People underestimated, what one could do with secrets. The things you could do, the ways you could manipulate people; it was perfect for business and all he had to do was play the part.

He would admit though, it was tedious sometimes, having to listen to drama about relationship issues, how people worried that they wouldn’t get the right grades, dream job, the internship they wanted. All things that in some way, yes, he could understand. But when somebody wanted to be the best Quidditch player ever? It was a long shot, everyone had that one dream that was… far-fetched. Most people grew out of it though, like him. He wanted to be a star Quidditch player when he was much younger, but he soon realised that it was just a childish wish and he started to focus on a more realistic career path. Admittedly, he had the money to buy his way onto a professional team, but that wasn’t the way of his family. They didn’t cheat and con through life, they did what was necessary and they also worked hard, much harder than some and that was how you got places in life.

But today, he didn’t want to dwell on his life and his future, despite everything that he said and believed. Even he had those moments of wanting to be a teenager and that involved spending time with Oralie, on a date… but that wasn’t what it was. There was nothing official about this, just two friends spending time together… two friends who got intimate on a near-daily basis. It was a dangerous game he was playing really, he was getting feelings for his fellow Slytherin and the smartest move would probably be to step back and put his walls up, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He needed to feel her against him, she made his head spin and his heart stutter, but he wanted and needed her still. He didn’t like the idea of anyone else with their hands running over her body the way his did. Karel knew he had no right to feel so jealous though, she was just in it for the sex and he had to accept that sooner or later, someone may come along and sweep her off her feet and steal her heart from being so close in his grasp. That thought infuriated him and he knew he’d have to up his game, even if he played dirty and led her on. That upset him, he couldn’t bear to hurt Oralie, but he couldn’t stand the idea of someone else being able to hold her and kiss her. The smart thing to do, probably, would be to just tell her how he felt, but Karel couldn’t bring himself to do that, the fact he could humiliate himself, humiliate her and lose what they had right now. He’d just have to settle, or try to win her heart in a way that meant he wouldn’t have to admit out loud how he felt until he knew if she reciprocated his feelings.

The dress Oralie wore took his breath away and he had to fight to tear his gaze away from her body to her face when she spoke to him and he noticed that her hair looked different, longer maybe? It suited her. The wizard took a few steps forward and held one of the curls, ”I like this, it suits you… you look lovely.” He told her earnestly, her entire attire was beautiful and he nodded as she told him that she’d just thrown something on, he was only half listening though as he was too busy drinking in every inch of her body to save it to his memory, just in case she ever did date another. "AR translation...” He repeated slowly, taking a few moments to try and understand what she’d said and tear himself away from being so distracted. "Oh, right… yeah. Did you finish it off at least?” He asked, finally starting to regain control of his thoughts and actions. When she answered his question Karel hummed thoughtfully and nodded, "That works, should we maybe do a little bit of browsing first then?” Karel suggested, he’d struggled to eat much this morning, all he’d managed was a piece of dry toast because his nerves had been getting the better of him. He hoped that now Oralie was with him, things would be easier to stomach and if not – he’d just have to eat when he was with his mother. Who, now that he thought about it; he needed to contact and tell her that he was going to be meeting her in a different place to usual. Maybe he’d send her a Patronus? He’d figure it out later, maybe whilst they were eating? It didn’t matter right now, right now his entire attention was devoted to Oralie, "So, Lie. Where shall we go first?” He asked, resting his hand flat on her back and heading out of the double doors.

OUTFIT // 931 // @heart thief

I Can, I CAN BE

another reason you're up at night

I can be all the things you thought she might

This was not the first time that Oralie had been accompanied by a wizard to Hogsmeade. She was a six year for Circe's sake! Obviously, she'd indulged a few handsome blokes over the years. Most had been older and were graduated now. Her fancying Karel violated her age rule--sort of. She had a no dating someone in her  own year rule. Which had always materialized as her being involved with older wizards. She'd enjoyed some physical fun with a few of her former teammates (and opponents). Fitz Yaxley had been all beater brawn, which was brilliant for no-strings-attached liaisons. Caerus was leaner, but he'd been fun, too... They hadn't been expecting anything either. It had been fun and that had been that. She'd even sunk her teeth in good boy Liam Potter once. 

But with those boys, she had never really felt anything. It had been fun. It had been physical. But that was it. Just shagging--sometimes just a little playing. It wasn't emotional. It had never been messy. They had not gotten in her head the way that Karel was. She had been attracted to them, but she hadn't actually liked liked them. Not like  she did with the blond. She kept telling herself it would diminish, that the butterflies would stop coming around. How many times had the girl fed herself the lie that all she needed was just one more shag and she'd be thinking of him just as a friend. More times than she wanted to admit or even consider. 

Something was different with Karel. Oralie needed to accept that. She was just struggling to. She did not really know how to address the possibility of having an emotional, romantic connection to someone. Her father was head over heels for her mother, but the same could not be said in reverse. Kristofer's affections had never really been reciprocated. All Isidore loved was herself and the family Gringott's vault. She wasn't her mother, though. She could care for people besides just herself. And it wouldn't be so bad to care for Karel, assuming that affection was reciprocated. She wasn't blind to the way he reacted to her presence. The shifts in his aura around her and when interacting with other people were visible to her. She had insights that hinted towards attachment. But the little voice in her head reminded, it could just be physically motivated. 

Oralie did not think that was the case, though. If all Karel wanted was to shag, he wouldn't have suggested they go to Hogsmeade together. He would have been more quiet on patrols. He wouldn't have said he wanted to know things about her, to know her. Well, perhaps he would have, if he had been trying to play her--but she didn't think he was. He had been too honest during their game, too real for him to just be working her.

Karel asked her where she wanted to go and she considered the question as she leaned in towards him as he put his hand on her back and opened the door  for them. A carriage was waiting and she looked over her shoulder and up at his face, taking in his features up through her long lashes. She smiled and turned her attention to in front of them again. "Perhaps Scrivenshaft's? I really do not want to face the slew of our fellow students that will be at the more heavily trafficked shops. I don't think I could bare Three Broomsticks or Honeydukes." She did not want to go to Zonko's either. The witch really was not the type to visit a joke shop. If she was going to prank or punish someone, it was going to be with something of her own design that had been carefully brewed for the task. Madam Puddifoot's was not something Oralie wanted to be subjected to either. The place was painfully tacky--and would be filled with disgusting couples who couldn't behave in public because they wouldn't just shag already. She did not want to bare witness to that misfortune today. 

She wasn't opposed to Tomes and Scrolls. She could see how it would be interesting to go to a bookstore with Karel--to see what sort of things he gravitated to...but on a day like today, it would be teaming with Ravenclaws. She preferred to enjoy her fellow Slytherin's company with the least interruptions as possible. They reached the carriage and she was relieved to look inside and find it empty. She lifted her hand for Karel to take as she readied herself to step up and inside. Slipping into the seat, she let her fingers drop from his, a smirk played on her crimson lips as she adjusted her dress. The cashmere was so soft against her skin. She loved just feeling the slightest shift. When Karel had joined her in the carriage, the witch crossed her leg towards him and placed a delicate hand on his thigh, leaning forward just a bit as she turned her head to him. If he wanted to put his arm around her, she had made it easy to do so. The carriage set into motion and her smile grew. "Thank Merlin, we've managed a private carriage." Her voice was laced with suggestive undertones--and she drew her lip under her teeth before continuing with: "It'd have been terrible to be stuck with some bratty third year lions. I wouldn't be able to do this," the witch leaned into Karel and stole a slow and lingering kiss. Her eyes rested closed for a moment after she pulled away, a smile lighting up her face before those lined lids slowly parted to show her expressive orbs sparkling up at him.

_{@ totally just a friend ♔ appearance ♔ 952}

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

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Not a Date, Date

You always leave me breathless.

Karel didn’t often travel with people to Hogsmeade, he never felt like anyone was worth his time. He’d rather roam the village alone and meet only his mother, after all, she was the only person he could have a proper conversation with. Today was a first though, he hadn’t really spoken that much to Oralie before he’d become a Prefect; sure there’d been the conversations in passing but it had only really been this past school year and it had certainly opened his eyes to the fact that not everyone was immature like he thought. It was a pleasant change, but at the same time, Oralie was only one person. It was probably the fact they had similar upbringings that made her such an enjoyable companion for Karel. He’d never been on a ‘date’ though and even though they weren’t really calling it a date, the likelihood of people from the outside looking in gossiping was going to end up with having at least a few people referring it to as a date. He’d much rather just look at it as two friends who were greatly attracted to each other, spending some alone time together that wasn’t purely physical; at least he hoped that they were both attracted to each other, it was definitely much more than lust for Karel, no matter how much he tried to deny it; not that he would say that out loud because Oralie Slughorn was a tough witch to read and he didn’t want to cause trouble. If she wanted to just shag, that was fine. If it eventually turned out that she found him attractive, even better.

The blond tried his best to hide his feelings when it came to Oralie but he was finding it harder and harder to manage his feelings around her and then on top of that she had mentioned in passing the fact she could read peoples aura’s and that she was learning to expand on it, that really didn’t fill him with much hope about trying to contain his feelings. He could try and keep his mask on and his walls up, but at the end of the day, if he was understanding right. It would be little to no use because Oralie would know and he was unlikely to be able to do anything about it.

The wizard’s curled up into a small smile when Oralie relaxed into his touch and Karel’s worries eased a little, he would have understood if she’d pulled away but he was trying to work out where they both stood with their feelings and the fact she let him make such an… intimate move (for both of them) was making Karel feel hopeful that there was something more there for them both, past the lust. He glanced down at Oralie when he felt her gaze on her and cocked his head to the side ever so slightly when she began to speak. He turned to the carriage that was stood waiting for them and hummed a little at what Oralie said, “I can agree with you there, they act like children at Hogsmeade, even when they’ve been multiple times.” The disapproval in his tone was evident, he knew that both he and Oralie were technically still children, but neither of them acted like it. They had been raised properly and it showed, their fellow students just… didn’t. “Definitely not Honeydukes.” Karel said, wrinkling his nose in distaste, whilst he did have a bit of a sweet tooth himself, he hated having to deal with the excitable crowds, maybe after he’d seen his mother he could seek out the blonde beside him once again and they could visit Honeydukes when it had quietened down a bit, but for now he wanted to steer clear. “I do need some more quills and parchment though.” He mused allowed running his hand along his chin, looking thoughtful. “We could probably go to a few other places when the initial rush has passed, you know how it is. Everyone wants to go to Honeydukes, Three Broomsticks and the like first that within a few hours, they’ll be practically dead and we can browse in peace.”

Karel peered over Oralie’s shoulder into the carriage when they reached it and saw it was empty so quickly looked over his shoulder to see if anyone was following close by; it seems they were in luck and that this carriage would be all to themselves. He automatically took Oralie’s hand when she held it out to him and placed his free hand on her back again as she climbed into the carriage before swinging into it beside her. He paused in the doorway for a few seconds, deciding whether to sit beside the witch or opposite her, sitting beside her wasn’t that terrible of an idea, after all, they were friends but being in close proximity with her was giving him those godforsaken butterflies again. He took a moment to look the witch over from top to bottom as she brushed her hands across her cashmere fabric and gnawed on his lip ever so slightly as he settled beside her, a shiver passing through him at the tender action of her hand on his thigh. He studied her body language for a moment, something he’d observed his mother do a couple of times with others and hesitantly snaked his arm around her, twirling a strand of hair around his finger. Karel nodded at her comment about having a private carriage, the blond had lost his voice and his confidence, but his eyes glinted hungrily at the slightly suggestive lilt to her tone of voice. Karel was taken aback when the witch moved to kiss him and he dropped the strand of hair he’d been playing with to wrap his arm around her neck a little bit more and pulled her closer as he responded to the kiss. He gave a slight grumble of disappointment when she pulled away but he took a chance and stole another quicker, more gentle kiss. “It’s such a shame the ride to Hogsmeade isn’t that long, I like when we make things last.” He purred, kissing the side of her lip when she was looking up at him again, taking a moment to appreciate the adorable twinkle in her eyes. He didn’t want Oralie to think his mind was always on their sexual endeavours but sometimes, he couldn’t help letting his mind wander or making highly suggestive and thirsty comments towards her.

OUTFIT // 1,088 // @heart thief