@caerus

Alois just wanted to relax this evening, she was not on the roster to patrol so she could just do whatever she wanted. After the game yesterday she felt she had every right to do so. Her favourite place to relax, second to her own dorm was the Prefect’s common room. There was a greater chance of someone coming in here than in her own dorm but she still didn’t mind. She got along well with most of her fellow prefects but it was expected that she would clash with one or two of them. It was definite that she would clash with Caerus but given their history that was a given. She tried to not let it bother her but it did. It was bound to get on her nerves really.

The two of them had been just friends with benefits but that had been short lived. She was over him though, at least for what they had been. He could go shag whoever he wished. She had been with other people since then. Though no one she had stuck with, like Caerus. There was just something about, he just did things that she liked. Of course given that Alois had been with girls to she found them appealing to. So she had convinced herself that she was find with no longer shagging Caerus.

From she had heard he was now seeing or at least he fancied someone else. That didn't surprise Alois really, he knew he could get any girl he wanted, heck she had fallen for him too so she was well aware of his charm. She looked back on the times she had been with him as a lesson to not focus so much time on him or anyone for that matter. She knew that kind of lesson was not too late but at least she could say she know knew it. Maybe she was over thinking this and she should just get on with what she had to do instead of letting thoughts of her kind-of ex get to her.

It would help if she had a book to read so she could distract her mind a little while she tried to relax. After all that was what she was supposed to be doing tonight. Luckily she had a book on the history of portkeys not aware of someone else making their into the room.

VISIONS

OUTFIT

Sometimes, he just needed a break from the common room. Caerus liked most of his housemates, really. They were fun enough to be around. Some of them were a little rigid and boring for his tastes, but that was mostly a house stereotype. Most Ravenclaws weren't boring and always studying-in fact, most of them knew how to have a good time. That was something that he had personally tested. But that didn't stop him from occasionally wanting to get away from the common room for a while. In the warmer months, that was easier to do. He could go out to the Quidditch pitch, or down by the lake or… anywhere really. But options were slightly more limited when it was colder out. He could go down to the pitch, or hang out anywhere else on the grounds, but it wasn't exactly pleasant. There was only so much charms could do, and it was just no comparison to spending time on the lawns in the warmer months. So there were less options, but a good one was always the prefects' common room. It was guaranteed to have less people in it than his own common room, since there were only twenty-six students that had the password.

It was a good enough place to spend some time, and get just a little bit of quiet. Caerus liked being in the middle of everything, most of the time. But there were always those occasions when he could just use a break, and wanted some quiet. This was a good place for that. It helped that he actually liked most of the other prefects. There were a few that he didn't get along with, but not too many. It meant that even if he wasn't alone in the room, it would at least be someone that he didn't mind talking to. And it would still be far less people, regardless. There was really no harm in heading over there. It wasn't too long of a trek in any case, and he might even be able to get some work done. That was a big maybe, but still. He had brought his bag along with him, just in case the pressing need to study came across him. It was always possible, he supposed. But really, he thought that he would just enjoy the quiet for a little while. Maybe do some reading-the actual fun kind of reading, not textbooks.

He had known that there was a chance of someone being in the room when he muttered the password and went inside. There were just very few people that he actually wouldn't want to see, when it came to his fellow prefects. As he stepped into the common room, though, he saw that one of those people just so happened to be in there. Alois. Their relationship-that hadn't really been a relationship at all, had been fun while it had lasted. There was no denying that. But then it had ended, and it hadn't exactly been on the best terms. Pair that with the fact that she was on an opposing Quidditch team, and they weren't exactly the biggest fans of each other. It didn't mean that he was going to let that show. It wasn't like he hated her or anything. And she was the only other person in the room, so this was as close to peace and quiet as he was going to get. "Jones. Hey." He said, with a nod, before dropping down into an armchair. He was content to not talk to her any more than that, if that was what she wanted. Or they could talk and he could bring up Hufflepuff's defeat the day before-that would be amusing.

Alois knew she couldn’t avoid Caerus. They just had to put up with each other for another few months and then they could leave Hogwarts and never see each other again. However, if they both went on to play Quidditch after school what statement would not hold true. She supposed she would have to wait and see what came about if anything that was. Right now with both of them being prefects it became impossible to run away from Caerus. Their not-relationship had just been that. So why was it so hard for them to break up then? They were just casual and they weren’t even together all that long. It was just puzzling to Alois. It was not her speciality to solve puzzles, she was more concerned with her Quidditch and her art. Caerus being an eagle was free to solve the puzzle if he wished but she was certain that it didn’t bother him. For all she knew, he had quickly moved onto another witch by now or could be shagging several witches. It really didn’t bother her, they were over and she was over it. The only downside is that occasionally he would make quips in regards to how badly the Hufflepuff team played in their recent game.

Did he not realise that he was predictable like that? As captain she was used to hearing such comments from him and anyone else. She tried to not to let it bother her but she knew she had to get working on techniques to improve their chances of winning or work on some different plays. She would have to put this to the team when they had their next training session. She knew she had to work her team hard. They maybe be badgers but that did not mean that they were soft. No, they were out to to prove themselves to be strong and worthy of winning the house cup later this year.

She had been attempting to relax and think about game techniques another time but then Caerus had arrived. Given they were both prefects too, she should have known that. Looking up as he called her name she offered him a small smile. ”Hey” she said quietly before she looked back to the book she was reading. Truthfully she wasn’t sure why she had even picked up a book on port keys. At least given how much time she spent in the muggle world, it would come in handy. Alois saw Caerus take a seat in an armchair and she knew this going to be awkward for the both of them if neither of them spoke. ”I hope you don’t mind me being here…” She had no problem with him being here.

Relationships weren’t something that he avoided, per say. He had dated before. He dated plenty, actually. Yes, sometimes there were witches that he didn’t have to date. Sometimes they were just interested in the same thing that he was, and that worked out quite well too. But he wasn’t against dating either. He had no problem with it; it just wasn’t all that often that he was able to stay interested in one person for that long. Sometimes it happened for a couple of weeks, sometimes for a couple of months. Depending on the witch, sometimes it ended badly and he had to deal with her glares in the Great Hall, and deal with the glares of whatever ones of her friends had been told about his misdeeds. Sometimes it ended better. That was always preferred. It meant that he could still talk to them, and some were even up for a casual shag every so often.

No relationship had ever ended as well as his with Remy, but that was different. They had been friends from the moment that they’d met in her first year. She came home with him every Christmas to avoid having to go back to the orphanage or stay at the castle. They were friends even still, and occasionally they would shag if there was no one else that they were interested in. Their friendship was important to him. It was really too bad that their houses had them on opposite sides of the castle from each other. Being a Slytherin might have been the easier choice for him--not just because of the friends that he had in that house, but because sometimes he did feel like he fit better there than in Ravenclaw. But in the end, he did feel like he belonged there more than in Slytherin. He still saw Remy, and a few of his other friends, and Rhea a fair amount when they were at school.

But he hadn’t come to the prefects’ common room looking for any of them. Caerus had been looking for some peace and quiet instead. It was something that he sought after every so often. Normally he was completely at home in the middle of a crowd, and sometimes he just wanted to be alone. It was occasionally a good bet to try to come here for that--since only a handful of students knew the password. Instead of solitude, though, he’d seen Alois. He wasn’t going to let her presence get in the way of that quiet. Their not-relationship hadn’t ended on the best note, but that felt like ages ago now. He was over it. Merlin knew if she was though; he did fancy himself a hard person to get over. Caerus would have been all right with her not saying a word to him, and he raised his eyebrows when she ended up speaking.

He was nearly curious if she would get up and leave if he told her he wasn’t all right with her being there. Why did it matter if he cared? Hufflepuffs were too damn nice--she was here first. If he cared, then he should have been the one to leave. He just didn’t care--their little not-relationship was completely in the past to him. “It’s your common room as much as it’s mine.” Shrugging, he shifted his position in the armchair and kicked his feet up on the ottoman. “If I cared, I wouldn’t have stayed.” If he’d really wanted to avoid dealing with her, he’d seen her with plenty of time to turn around and leave. He just wasn’t one to find it all that necessary to avoid people.

Alois was not one to avoid people. Being a hufflepuff would be impossible if that were the case. Instead as she had gotten older she had just been more selective with who she spent time with or with who she decided to was worth her time. Still she hated stereotypes. Just because she happened to be sorted in Hufflepuff in her first year and was now a prefect didn’t mean she made it her purpose in life to please people. She was not stupid, she knew that was not possible. It was not impossible either but then she wouldn’t be herself. She couldn’t be everything to everyone. She knew her parents wouldn’t want to be something other than herself. But like the rest of them she had other things on her mind. Of course there was little she could do when it came to what was going on with the government at the moment. At the end of the day she was still a Hufflepuff prefect and a Quidditch Captain.

Despite captaining a Quidditch team she still got along mostly with the other players, even those from other houses. Caerus was the exception to this but that couldn’t be changed. The two of them had a somewhat coloured history. While they had been together in their non-relationship she had enjoyed her time with hm and there was no denying he was definitely skillful in bed. She just knew the two of them weren’t supposed to continue that and they weren’t meant to date properly either. It just wouldn’t work for them. They worked when shagging each other and that was it. They were hardly friends either and that showed now. Even with this, Alois didn’t contemplate dating Caerus. He was player and it wasn’t just restricted to the Quidditch pitch. While they had been together, she knew he could have been with other witches and that didn’t bother her. They were young and weren’t meant to be tied down to one person just yet. She knew if Louis had heard her thoughts on that he would not be to pleased but then again her older brother was in relationship and as far as Alois could tell he was happy and content.

The witch knew she couldn’t avoid Caerus when it came to the common room. They were just destined to see each other here. In classes they had together they could get away with not talking to each other because there was others to talk to and most of the professors didn’t let socialization go on for very long and would rather just conduct the class. Alois was fine with that, she would rather learn then deal with awkwardness with the wizard.

That wizard couldn't deny it was awkward for him to be here right now. They could have easily just sat here on their own just reading and not talked but she had failed and started to speak to him and now she was destined to make a mess of her words. Well, unless she stopped herself short that was. Alois nodded a little and shrugged before turning back to her book. It was really a pointless book, she was not dreaming of working in the portkey office anytime soon and she was unlikely to ever be tested to these lengths on the subject, she should have chosen a better book now in hindsight.

Caerus knew that he had a bit of a reputation when it came to girls at Hogwarts. He didn’t necessarily think that it was a bad reputation, per say. He wasn’t really that much of an arsehole, even when he broke up with someone. On occasion, it went poorly… and sometimes it went better. It all depended on the situation, but mostly he liked to think that the reputation he had around Hogwarts wasn’t complete shit. There just were a few witches that he thought that were more than a little bitter about how their relationship had ended. It didn’t matter if it had just been shagging or if he’d let her throw a label on whatever it was they were doing. He didn’t think that Alois was one of those witches. He didn’t think that she was bitter. But they were definitely not on the best of terms either. They just… weren’t. He didn’t know why and thought that the competitiveness of Quidditch might have something to do with it.

He didn’t think that was all of it, but he thought that a good portion of the… awkwardness, or whatever it was, between them had to do with them being opponents on the pitch--both chasers and all. He was a naturally competitive person, after all. He didn’t think that he’d end up playing Quidditch for anything more than just fun. Going into the sport professionally wasn’t something that he thought that he was all that interested in. But that didn’t stop him from being competitive during their matches. He liked to win. So, while his first thought when seeing Alois might have been about the awkwardness that had been between them since their break-up, he also couldn’t help but wonder how amusing it would be to bring up her team’s loss. He had to admit that, despite her skill as a chaser, he was not all that worried about Hufflepuff this year. He thought that Slytherin would be the team to beat, what with their nearly unfair advantage of having a practically professional seeker.

But that was beside the point. He wasn’t going to get overly arrogant about their chances against any team. He thought that was one of the easiest ways to lose--getting cocky, and that leading to sloppiness by thinking that they had the match in the bag. They were doing pretty well so far, though, and he hoped that they would be able to keep that up. He wanted to graduate with that win. It was just a pride thing--and it would just be a good end to his last year at school. He thought that LJ could really use that too. After the year that his friend had had, Caerus wanted them both to graduate with the Quidditch Cup. It would be a nice end to their time here and he knew that being at the school without his mum there had been hard on him. He didn’t know the best way to help him with that, but he thought that a trophy just might do the trick. Even if that was a little way’s away. “Tough luck about your match.” He added, offhandedly, after a few moments of silence had passed. There was no reason for them to sit there in silence when he could rub a little salt on the wound. All in good fun, of course.

Alois wasn’t sure what it was that was going on between her and Caerus. They had been far from over many months ago. Nowadays they just got on with life. It was only on the occasion they saw each other. Those times included matches, of course, and classes, those times were unavoidable. The really awkward moments was when she saw him with another girl. I didn’t bother her, he was free to do what he pleased with who he pleased. She did the same with her partners. She just thought that the Ravenclaw had more class to actually go to bed with that or atleast lock the door. She was a prefect like he was, after all, surely he would work out that she would likely stumble across him and the girl he was with during her patrols. But the blonde wouldn’t put it past the wizard to do that on purpose to try and get a rise out of her. She just thought he was an idiot. Alois couldn’t even remember who had called off the two of them, clearly, he had not made a significant impact on her for to remember let alone have her heartbreak each time she saw him.

He could think what he wanted but it really didn’t bother her. Sure she didn’t do any PDA’s but that didn’t mean that didn’t do anything. Because she did sleep with other people. She just didn’t go around showing that off. She was more secretive about that, not because she was ashamed of who she shagged but she would rather just keep that private. She didn’t need her ego inflated as it appeared to be the case with Caerus. But Alois knew that he was not the only wizard around Hogwarts who was like that. In fact, there were a few like that. As it happened Caerus was not the only wizard that she came across when they were snogging a witch. She supposed that all teenagers were similar, she just liked to keep her love life private. Well, it was far from a love life, she didn’t love anyone she had been with. Sure there a few people that stood out and she had loved being with that but she would not call that being in love with that. She knew she was still young and she still had so much time to find that special someone.

Alois wasn’t trying to be awkward on purpose with Caerus also in the common room but that feeling was unshakeable. She wondered if she should just bail and get out but no, that would show defeat. And while she had lost in Quidditch, she was not showing him that she was weak here and now. Because she was not weak. Sure, there were moments where she doubted herself and she knew she had to change as soon they would be graduating, she had to work towards that. She really wasn’t sure what she was to do though. If only he had broken the silence by talking about something other than her recent loss. But if he wanted to go down that road, then so would she. ”While losing is upsetting, it’s important not to hold onto loses for too long but rather to learn from them and move on. I didn’t take too to dwell on it though, I found a suitable distraction soon enough” It was true, she had and she didn’t care if the wizard thought she was bluffing or not. Alois just turned her head and looked up and smiled at him before going back to reading.

There wasn’t all that much to keep a person entertained at Hogwarts. He would take what he could get--and today, that meant seeing if he could get a rise out of Alois by talking about Hufflepuff’s loss. He didn’t know if it would do any good, but it was at least a little funny. He didn’t mean anything but he. He knew that she wasn’t bad--she was actually a really good Chaser. Definitely the best on the Hufflepuff team, probably better than most everyone on the Gryffindor team too. But she wasn’t better than him. And that wasn’t arrogance, that was just the truth. He just thought that there were few chasers in the school that were as good as he was. Alistair was pretty good. U-Jin was obviously the best seeker. And he didn’t feel biased in saying that he thought LJ was the best keeper in the school. If it was true, it was true. But he knew that Alois was good. He thought that she was practically one of the only reasons that Hufflepuff did well at all, and he had not been surprised when she had become captain. But that didn’t mean that he was going to say any of that. He had no reason to compliment her.

Not because he was bitter or anything, because he wasn’t. Their relationship had come and gone, and he had known that she was a good Quidditch player throughout all of that. He had told her so when they had been together, so he didn’t think that she needed the extra confidence boost. They weren’t on the same team. If they were, then maybe he would be nice enough to tell her on occasion that she did a good job. But they were on opposing teams and that meant that she would get no compliments from him. Simple as that. Instead he’d tease her about her loss, all in good fun, and hope that he would gain at least a sort of amusing reaction from her. Hogwarts got boring. If they couldn’t shoot the shit about Quidditch and try to one-up each other, then what were they going to do to pass their time? It was the same thing that he would have done to any other prefect that could have been in here, if they played Quidditch anyway. If they didn’t, then the conversation might have been a bit more boring.

Caerus knew that the season was just really getting going again. It was too soon to get too cocky when anything could happen and the Cup was really anyone’s to win. He just didn’t think that Hufflepuff was much of a threat this year. There was only so much that Alois could do. And Slytherin was just going to be hard to beat this year; even Caerus could admit that, and he was sure that Alois could too. They had an unfair advantage, and if he was a different type of person he might have complained about that. But he hadn’t, and he wouldn’t. He would just accept the challenge and would feel even better about themselves if they ended up winning against Slytherin again. They were going to try their damnedest at least. He just had to get Donald that new broom. Their seeker wasn’t going to continue to win matches with the piece of shit he was currently using. “Suitable, huh? Must have been quite the distraction to keep your mind off of it.”

Alois was stubborn, she was a teenage girl after all. Her parents had commented many times just how stubborn she was. She had hated it was such a stark contrast to her house. It meant that practically everyone jumped to conclusions. She would have loved to have proven anyone and everyone about Hufflepuffs but it was not that easy. One, people were so stuck in their beliefs. Badgers had been thought of as daft for many, many years. Two, the younger students in her house were still very much quiet and timid and very far from brave. Lastly, she was just one person. She wasn’t even sure why she had made this her mission. The witch just wanted to correct people’s preconceptions about her house. She didn’t devote that much time to it honestly, she knew she better put some time to her studies and playing Quidditch. She of course could prove people wrong when it came to performing well with Quidditch. Her team were not performing the best and she knew they could improve. They just had to believe in themselves. While, that would sound way to hopeful, it was something that Alois had read many times from reading biographies on high profile Quidditch players and even players who had retired. They were full of wisdom that she was sure she would be right in having some hope in herself and her team. When she and Caerus had been together they would tease each other endlessly about their respective team’s defeats. Now, they barely spoke.

Even if by some chance they didn’t win any other game, at least she had finished her final year as captain. That was better than she had seen herself. It would do well to elevate herself in the minds of Quidditch scouts. No doubt that Caerus was thinking about his future career in Quidditch to. She didn’t think he would do anything other than Quidditch but people were always full of surprises. She had learned that lesson early at Hogwarts. It had come be a handy lesson to know. She secretly hoped that people had been surprised by her in some form but she of course couldn’t ask. Caerus had never told her so, at least he was quiet about it. Maybe it would affect his ego to much to admit she did things he liked in bed. He definitely seemed like that kind of guy. Alois didn’t care too much, well, she didn’t want to care too much but she was only human. After they had agreed to call their non-relationship quits she had tried to not spend much time dwelling on it because she knew he wouldn’t.

The time she had seen him had not been ideal but she knew she couldn’t avoid the guy. It was Hogwarts after all. She just had to be civil. When he had walked into the common room she had tried not to get up and leave immediately. Admittedly it had taken a lot of willpower. She had tried to not look surprised by question. He didn’t really want to know did he, he didn’t really care. ”Since you appear curious, I’ll tell you, yes, suitable. I doubt you care very much” You probably care very little for anyone but yourself she told herself, it was part of being civil to not say anything she may regret out loud. Alois didn’t know why Caerus did in fact bother her so much, he just did.

Visions

Alois had been different than a lot of the other girls that Caerus had dated. Maybe that was why the break-up hadn’t gone all that well. He wasn’t sure. In general, he tended to make the assumption that Hufflepuffs were more sensitive than most other people, but he wasn’t honestly sure if that was even all that accurate. Girls just tended to be quite sensitive at times. Sometimes he offended them without even being sure just how he had done it and he thought that was the case in this situation. They hadn’t broken up on the best of terms, but it wasn’t as if it had been too overly awful either. It wasn’t as if they had thrown things or screamed at each other in a public place. He had just gotten bored, as he tended to do, and that had been that. But for some reason, since then, being around her had always been awkward. Or at least, it seemed like she was pissed or at least uncomfortable in his presence. He would have been more than all right with just moving forward but there had just always seemed to be something holding them back from getting there. Maybe it was the fact that they were rivals on the Quidditch pitch, or the fact that they were both prefects this year… or something else. Caerus couldn’t claim to know what was going on in her head. Witches could be pretty damn confusing at times, and while he thought that he was good with them in general, he didn’t claim to be an expert when it came to what pissed them off or annoyed them. He just knew that Alois didn’t like to be around him, because it just seemed pretty obvious almost every single time they were around each other. He didn’t think that he would have been surprised if she’d left instead of spending any time with him at all. She had stayed. At least she was giving it a shot. Caerus wouldn’t… be himself if he didn’t rub salt in the wounds a little bit. Not about their relationship, but about Hufflepuff’s loss. That would likely get to her more than any talk of their relationship ever would. Her tactics for changing the subject was rather interesting in his opinion, but he had no problem talking about whomever had distracted her from the loss. In fact, maybe he’d even keep talking about it until she had to try to change the subject again. That might end up being funny. “Can I be curious and not care very much at the same time? Seems like it’d be one or the other, love.” He countered, with a grin. Winding up the Hufflepuff was always something that was amusing to him and he thought that he was certainly heading in that direction as far as this particular conversation went. It was really too easy.