what a horrible night to have a curse {open}

[Ariadne Lucarri]

There was only one thing to do when Aria was this distressed. She sighed and pulled her sweater around her shoulders. She was going to the kitchens. She couldn't tell the student body about her lunar-associated problems, but she trusted the house elves for some reason or another. It was probably because they were her only source of interaction while she lived with her grandmother.

The woman was by no means cruel, simply detached. Purebloods just had a tendency to be that way.

Aria shook herself from her thoughts of home. Now wasn't the time or the place. She wandered into the kitchen to find a hot plate of steak sitting there for her. It was rare. She was almsot drooling. Hurrying towards her stool, Aria forgot about the fork laying next to the plate. She dug into her meal with her hands.

"Thank you," she managed in between bites. The elf offered her a small smile and she returned it. Her more feral qualities came out the closer the moon got, and the elves knew of her inclination towards raw meat. She'd never show that weakness in front of the other students - especially the ones in her house.

Only Merlin knew what would happen if they caught wind of it.

[Ivanov Flemming]

It was evening at Hogwarts. There were a few hours to spend before curfew and Ivanov did not feel like doing anything special then. He did not have many guy friends to begin with but he had his own share of the ladies. He did not feel like hanging out with them for then either. Entering the second month of fall, the wind blew quite hard, sweeping away the remnants of nice hot summer. The seventh year Gryffindor decided to venture away from the classroom for a walk. He was just passing by the main entrance hall and felt the wind breezing through his skin. The cold feeling made him forget about his early dinner that night and his stomach yearned for more fulfilling meal.

Affirming the protest of the stomach, his legs turned involuntarily to the dungeon, where the kitchen was located. The dungeon was as moldy and cold as always. He could never stop wondering why Slytherins loved the place so much. But then again, a direct and straightforward guy like Ivanov wouldn’t understand the fun of sneaking around the shadowy and dark dungeon, trying not to get noticed before stabbing someone in the back. Yes, an affirmation that he was a true foolhardy Gryffindor. Walking boldly towards the kitchen, he didn’t even care to stop and watch his surroundings where some Slytherins who were walking back to their common room gave him weird and disapproval stuck up glances. Ivan reached the painting entrance of the kitchen and tickled the pear gently.

The door creaked open for a bit but he didn’t keep on tickling because an ungodly sight that welcomed him that night. There through the small breach of the kitchen entrance, he could barely stand seeing a girl eating in a ravenous manner, not even with any utensil. The girl ate like a wild animal and Ivan couldn’t help but feel disgusted about it. However, his mother’s word rang in his mind even before his disgust let his self-control go lose. His mother always told him to respect every girl no matter in what condition they were and he never even once disobeyed her. Observing the girl some more, his feeling of disgust turned into something of sympathy.

From his surveillance, the girl seemed to be in her third or fourth year and he could see a blurred Slytherin green color when her body was slightly turned to his view. This made him even more curious. It was not like a Slytherin to eat like that. After all, Slytherins worshiped manners, an ideal he shared with them. And he couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the girl eating like that. However, still holding strong the idea that his mother had planted in him since young, he believed that there were good reasons behind the discourteous behavior.

He decided not to intrude the girl and started to turn away. However, unbeknownst to him, his shoestring was lose and he tripped on it. Ivan fell off flat on his face, making quite a noise and pushed the entrance open with his lost of balance. “Oh shit. I’ll just have to hope that she wouldn’t think that I have been watching her eating so grossly. She would feel bad if she knew that and she might even hate me,” he thought desperately.

[Ariadne Lucarri]

It wasn't a loud noise, but any noise caught Aria's attention. She turned towards the doorway and wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her robe. She could only imagine how feral she looked with blood dripping down the sides of her mouth. It took a moment to analyze the situation before her. It was a Gryffindor student by the looks of his robes and he'd managed to trip....on his own shoelaces with the way his legs were all tangled.

People always scolded her on keeping her shoelaces tied or else she'd trip on them but she'd never actually seen it happen before. Aria bit her bottom lip and tried not to laugh. She strode towards him and bent down, offering her hand.

"A-are you...hehe...alright?"she asked, trying to sound as kind as she could. The rivalry between houses always made everyone else weary of her. Apparently Slytherin students couldn't be good natured. Regardless of house status though, she was grateful to whoever he was for lightening her mood. He was older than her, probably in his last year here. She wasn't sure if the look on his face was confusion or blind hatred, but she hoped it wasn't the latter.

It rubbed her wrong when people she didn't even know hated her.

[Ivanov Flemming]

Ivan was still stunned by his sloppiness. Imagine being tripped by shoelaces like that! His mother would have him scolded for sure. The horror of her mother image scolding him for being so ungracious ran throughout his mind. Sometimes he couldn’t really believe how her mother could still act so gracious although all she had to do was household stuffs. She could pull out looking gorgeous and charming even when she was just dusting the shelves. No wonder his father never ever ventured away once, with such goddess waiting for him at home. He couldn’t help but giggled a little to himself but to do that he had to rose his face a bit from his previous position. However what awaited him made him to stop his giggle. Worse, he could hear a small restrained laugh from the Slytherin girl who was now offering her hand amicably to him.

He was torn between feeling highly embarrassed for falling down on his face because he tripped on his shoelace then giggle to himself which made him look like a psycho, or feeling amazed by the display of friendliness from a Slytherin. His mixed feeling made his face strained for a bit displaying an expression he couldn’t name. The cornucopia of feelings made him choked quite badly and he started a coughing fit. Still coughing, he took the girl’s hand to help him balance and sat on a stool that the house elves just provided. Those little marvelous creatures also provided him with a glass of warm water which calmed his fit down after a while. As he calmed down, he looked at the girl and smiled gently, “Thanks for your help. I’m truly grateful. I can’t believe I tripped and fell on my face just like that.”

The final year student then asked the one of the house elves to bring him some desert and sweet things. He wasn’t in the mood to eat savory meal anymore after looking at the barbaric eating girl earlier. The house elves bounced happily and brought him his favorite mango pudding and fruit sundae. Scooping a bit of mango pudding, he could taste the exotic taste of the tropical fruit and let himself to relish on the sweet flavor. Once he finished eating his first spoon, he looked at the girl again. “I’m Flemming, Ivanov Flemming. Would you like to have some dessert?” he said, introducing himself as well as offering some of what he was eating. Ivan decided not to bring up what he had seen earlier and waited for her reply whilst continuing to savor the sweet mango pudding.

[Ariadne Lucarri]

It's uncomfortable to want to help someone and not be able to, Aria thought with a frown. She wanted to rub his back, something habitual to do whenever anyone coughed, but she couldn't. The elder student deserved his personal space, and she didn't want to scare him off by intruding it. He had just as much of a right eating in the Kitchens as she did. More, even. Seniority and all that nonsense.

The house elves brought him water and Aria breathed a sigh of relief when he finally stopped coughing. There was just something about coughing that made Aria flinch on the inside. She'd never show it though. Aria didn't trust anyone with her weaknesses. It wasn't smart being in the house that she was. When he finally caught his breath, he requested some dessert. Aria licked her lips. Some sweets do sound good right now, she thought. Two of the house elves came back with a strange looking pudding and gave it to him, happy to serve. Aria plopped down on the stool next to him and tilted her head to the side like a curious child. She wanted to know what it was. She sniffed the air a little bit, trying to be subtle about it. Anyone catching on to what she actually was, was a bad idea.

"I'm Flemming, Ivanov Flemming. Would you like to have some dessert?" he said. Aria's face lit up. She absoutely loved sweets! She nodded quickly and said, "I'm Ariadne Lucarri, but just Aria, please. The rest is just a mouthful."

[Ivanov Flemming]

As the girl accepted his offer for dessert with a nod, Ivan gestured towards the spare stock of mango pudding the house elves had brought before with his right hand which was still holding the spoon. Although he was carrying the bowl of pudding on his left hand and gesturing with his right hand which still held the spoon, he managed to pull off looking so graceful and poised. He also added a charming smile, urging the girl to pick up the pudding and eat with him. After a savory meal which the girl seemed to have before he came dramatically stupid to the room, desserts and sweet things were always the best next course.

The Slytherin girl introduced herself as Ariadne, or Aria which she preferred to be called. Smiling at the introduction, with politeness he replied, “Aria.. That’s a beautiful nickname. In that case you can call me Ivanov, or Ivan if you prefer to do so. It is nice to meet you.”

“Have you ever tried this pudding before? It’s made of a tropical fruit called mango. They didn’t sell it much around here but I’m lucky that the house elves can make one. I did try it once in a Chinese restaurant a few years back and it’s really good!” he said to Aria, explaining what he was eating in details. He was quite sure that she did not know what it was because as a Slytherin it was a high chance that the girl did not have any contact with muggle worlds, thus Chinese restaurants. Moreover, wizards and witches at that time did not travel around much and they preferred to remain the constraints of their autonomy territory.

He also noticed from his short encounter with the girl that she had the face structure of a beauty. He was sure that in no time she would grow to be a gorgeous young woman that many would admire. Those high cheekbones and long sharp nose were irresistible. As were the luscious lips and sharp eyes. Out of all the features she had, he couldn't imagine why would such a beau of all people would eat in a horrendous manner she did earlier. He was so engrossed on his thoughts that he did not notice her saying something. As he snapped out of his silent reverie, he looked at Aria, smiled sheepishly and said, "I'm sorry. I wasn't listening earlier. What did you say?" And he scooped another spoon of mango pudding.

[Ariadne Lucarri]

((I'm sorry for being away for so long!))

Aria smiled a little and shook her head. "I haven't had it before. I've never even heard of a mango to be honest..." she said a little slowly. Picking up the spoon next to the additional bowl, she poked the pudding. It was strange to say the least. Her grandmother was against foreign things, though Aria wouldn't admit it. The old woman was far too protective about her granddaughter, but she showed it in a strange, strange way.

Taking a little of the pudding on her spoon, Aria put it in her mouth, testing the taste. Her eyes widened a little. "This is great," she said softly, taking a bigger bite of it. She'd only ever had vanilla and chocolate pudding before, never something so...fruit-like. She purred at the second bite. It was just as good as the first. Glancing over at Ivan, Aria wondered why he was being so...kind to her. She wasn't blind to the house hatred. She even participated in it on the rare occasion someone from the Gryffindor Quidditch team angered her out on the field.

"What year are you in?" she asked suddenly. She wanted to beat around the bush a little bit. Coming right out and asking what his motives were wasn't exactly the most light-hearted subject of conversation. Aria enjoyed the peace. It was always short-lived, and she wanted to make the best of it while she still had it.