It was a great night, yes it certainly was for one ravenclaw prefect who patrolled the halls to keep them safe from the evils of sneaking students and midnight snogging. He whistled while he worked taking a lead right of of Disney's Snow White. That Walt sure knew a thing or two about whistling.

Of course Riley was missing a most valuable part of this prefect duty and it came in the form of his sidekick Robin, A.K.A Silas. He hadn't seen much of his since he left him in alone in the presence of Evangeline Faye who Riley had tried to set him up to kiss. Now the ravenclaw just hoped the girl hadn't swallowed the bloke in her attempt though he wouldn't exactly rule it out. It was the wizarding world after all and he was sure impossible didn't belong here.

At any rate the absence of his sidekick meant batman had to handle the crimes of the towers on his own. Riley didn't mind terribly since technically he had been shirking his duties lately in favor of spending time with the little ginger. It also gave him time to himself to reflect on a few things he had been neglecting for a while and to catch a few heated snogging couples in the astronomy tower.

He hadn't expected to just run into someone who didn't seem worried about getting caught though and when he said ran into them he meant it literally. "Oi! What are you doing in the corridors at this time of night?" He asked and grabbed his wand and muttered, "Lumos," to light up the corridor a bit and to better see just who he had run into.

She wasn’t supposed to be patrolling tonight, but Laurette found herself rather antsy and incapable of settling down in the dungeons. She’d taken to the halls in a sleek black dress that had a skirt that would flow up far enough to show off her panties when she spun. It was her intention to get to the Room of Requirement and dance. Her ballet slippers were already on, making it easier to slip through the halls in silence, and she wasn’t very worried about getting caught. After all, even if someone did see her out of bed she could pull the Head card and get out of trouble quite easily.

The seventh year’s mind was somewhere else as she walked the memorized route without focus, thinking about Tobias and wondering what he was doing at the moment. Maybe she should have stayed down in the lower levels of the castle… She could have sent him an owl with a message to meet her somewhere. But then if he was sleeping, she’d have felt bad for waking him. Wait. Since when did she feel bad about anything? It was all so bloody confusing, she had to close her eyes and shake her head, resting it in her hand even as she continued to walk blindly down the hall toward her destination.

And then she bumped into another body and squealed in shock, pulling her wand as the other person lit his and illuminated the scene. Oh, bollocks. Laurette stared into the gaze of one of the prefects, Caldwell, she believed. Annoying Ravenclaw who was so misogynistic she thought testosterone might leak from his pores like sweat. She glared at him, shoving his wand down so that the light wasn’t so harsh on her eyes.

“What am I doing out so late? I am sure I have every right to be out late, being Head Girl! What are you doing out so late, idiot boy?”

Merlin's balls. He groaned realizing who it was. So much for his good evening. He whistled a tune of doom and took a step back, lowering his wand when she pushed it down so it wasn't blinding her. Laurette LeBeau. Current Hogwarts Head Girl and royal pain in anyone's arse she came across. It was a shame really, considering the older witch wasn't so harsh on the eyes. There might have been a time when Riley might have been interested in a chance meeting at night with her, but it wasn't now.

Very rarely did the ravenclaw react to hostility with hostility. He wasn't one to fight fire with fire for the most part. The boy was more prone to kill them with kindness. It worked better for him. What with his charming self. He bowed his head slightly and provided a charming smile. "I'm out this late because it's my night to be patrolling. According to the schedules. Unless they've been changed recently and no one mentioned it." His smile turned into his usual crooked one and he stood before her casually and his brown eyes raked over her body before meeting her gaze again. "I don't remember your name being on the list of patrolling authority figures though. You can feel free to correct me though if I'm wrong."

Kill them with kindness. That was Riley's thing. He spoke in a way that was polite and his smile was only just as polite and charming. He knew it would irk her because Laurette often enjoyed getting under other people's skin and hated for anyone to get under hers but she tended to make it easy. Her temper tantrums were notorious around these parts. He knew that she would know that he knew that she was not on patrol and was on her way somewhere she probably shouldn't be but he didn't really care. What was he going to do? Take points from her? It would only be more trouble than it was worth to argue with her and Riley didn't need the headache. "At any rate, care for an escort?" Leaning in slightly he whispered, "I am capable of putting two and two together you know. You're not exactly dressed for patrol."

Winking at her, he offered his arm to the girl.

Blinking rather rapidly at the Ravenclaw, Laurette didn’t quite know what to say. She wasn’t used to being called on her tricks, especially when they involved ‘patrolling’ claims. Usually the prefects just let her lie and didn’t give a damn. As long as she left them alone, most of them were happy to give her a wide berth.

Apparently ‘most of them’ did not include Caldwell, as he was offering her an arm and proudly spouting about his addition skills. She rolled her eyes, but took the arm anyway. Why the hell not, right? It was only the two of them out at this point anyway, and he didn’t seem to care about her late night ventures. The boy had always been a slight interest to her, especially considering her reputation for getting around and his for doing much the same.

“Yeah, yeah. Your Ravenclaw smarts are showing, Caldwell.” Laurette started walking with him then, wondering if she should really tell him where she was going. Well, it didn’t really matter, so why not? She was honestly not up to too much for once. Just going to dance a while. That wasn’t really bad, right? “I’m heading to the Room of Requirement, little bird. You really want to escort me there? Perhaps I could let you come in with me for a bit for you troubles…”

She winked at him, then thought she might as well bring a little something up that had been on her mind regarding the rather attractive younger male. “So is it true that you’ve committed yourself to just one little lion these days? I never thought the famous playboy would settle for just one woman. No matter how feisty that one might be.”

Laurette kind of enjoyed the youngest Weasley’s antics, if she was being honest. The girl had guts. Maybe she got an unfairly bad rep for it, but it was definitely a quality Laurette appreciated. Confidence to strut her stuff no matter what people might say? Yeah. That was female power right there. It was surprising, then, that the Weasley girl might actually have chained herself to the birdy whose arm the Head Girl was currently attached to. Surprising, but not necessarily bad. Perhaps the two would join together and tell the whole school to screw off. That could be very entertaining.

"It comes with the trade Laurette. I am sure of all people you could understand." He replied simply enough with a care free tone and attitude. Such was how the ravenclaw often was. It was all apart of the charm and one of the many reasons the witches flocked to him like moths to a flame. Unfortunately it didn't come with an on/off button or switch and Riley could only hope that his charming abilities didn't land him in trouble at some point with his little ginger. On the other hand he was man enough to admit that his witch's temper turned him on and as long as he didn't lose her he was ok with taking on her famous temper head on. He did have a certain love for playing with fire.

He walked at a steady pace, not in a rush to get wherever they were heading. The night had been uneventful until she had knocked into him and Riley didn't mind escorting her to her destination as long as she was going to play nice. "To the Room of Requirement then we shall go. Little bird eh? I would take that as an insult but birds are known to eat snakes for breakfast. I myself have had a few for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Even occasionally for desert. But that can be our little secret. Don't want the Ice Prince to find out I've dined on some of his snakes after all."

He winked at her and his crooked smile grew on his face while he continued on merrily, chuckling at both her wink and words and decided to kill two birds with one stone. "I have no problem with escorting a dame such as yourself around as long you're going to play nice. As for going in with you I have no problem with that either but depending on what you're interested in you might end up sorely disappointed. This bird's days of dinning on on snakes are over because Cupid has gone and shot me with one of his arrows."

Rounding the corner he continued his steady pace and lead the way, nothing about who he was escorting or what anyone might think if they spotted them affecting him. The whole castle knew he was a playboy but knew little else about him so he had little to say about gossips who judged things they knew nothing about to simply cause more drama than the castle needed. "Tis true." He admitted easily with a proud tone as his thoughts turned to the witch who had managed to make him monogamous. "There comes a time in every man's life where he sees a witch and thinks, 'Wow, what a witch.' It's only a matter of time for all of us, and I've had a good run. Plenty of other playboys to give the rest of the witches what they want eh?"

He gave her his charming smile and came to a halt outside the wall where the room was hidden, gesturing with his free hand to it. "Here we are. After you mademoiselle."

He had quite a way with words, this Ravenclaw. Usually Laurette avoided those younger than her by so much, but he was… interesting. She rather enjoyed the way his witty words just rolled off his tongue, and she also liked his boldness. He wasn’t afraid to say whatever he was thinking and that was somehow… sexy.

The French girl shook her head softly as he led her through the hall, letting out a soft laugh as she walked along. “Malfoy shouldn’t scare a strong birdy like you. He’s just a spoiled wuss. Plus, rumor says he’s more interested in wands than sheathes anyway, if you catch my drift.” With a wink, she paced before the door and focused on a beautiful dance studio, the door appearing with her third pass.

“Such a shame that so many of us are becoming victims of the gods of love lately, isn’t it Caldwell?” she asked mysteriously. She wouldn’t come out and tell him that she’d been shot with her own love arrow, but she wouldn’t deny it either. She’d never known how great it could be to admit to herself that she actually loved the Head Boy. Now that she had, she was nearly bursting to share her feelings with the whole world. Oh, but that wouldn’t work well for them. Not unless Fletcher was somehow out of her life.

She sighed, opening the door and leading the Ravenclaw inside with her. “I’m not sure there are that many left anymore, birdy. A surprising amount of the playboys and girls have been just as struck by love as you, I believe.” She sauntered into the room, already starting to stretch out. “I just want some company while I dance, if you’re up to it. Maybe we can even discuss just how strong the power of the love monster really is. Maybe you know a thing or two about dating outside of your house, too..?”

He watched her pace in front of the blank wall and provided a soft chuckle, tucking his hands and wand into the pockets of his trousers. "I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm afraid of Malfoy. I just prefer to stay off the blokes' radar about things that are meaningless these days." It was more or less the truth. Riley wasn't the type to pick a fight, especially not over witches. Now of course that may just be a different story since he was officially hooked on one witch. But he chose his battles carefully and a meaningless match against the slytherin prefect over something that didn't matter anymore was not a good choice of a battle.

He followed her into the room like a good gentleman should, allowing her first entrance and making himself useful by holding the door open for her. He returned her wink with one of his, his charming smile growing at her words as he closed the door behind himself and turned into a dance studio. He quirked an eyebrow but otherwise didn't comment on it. "A shame? I wouldn't go so far as to call it a shame. So far it feels like more of an adventure to me." He replied back, taking a place against a wall to lean back on it casually as he watched her stretch her limbs. "I wouldn't worry so much about a lack of play boys and girls. That lot is rather common wouldn't you say? I'm positive somewhere among the first years is a little Caldwell and perhaps a little LeBeau just waiting to reach the point of sexual endeavors."

Riley half joked, his smile turning more into a grin as he nodded in acquiescence to her request. "Company I can provide. As for the rest.." The ravenclaw trailed off slowly and looked at her with a quizzical gaze. "I would say I'm just figuring it out as I go along. You already know dating really isn't my forte or area of expertise. Witches, yes. Dating, no. What is it exactly that has you so intrigued with the entire notion? If you don't mind me asking."

She couldn’t help but shake her head at the idea of a mini-Caldwell or LeBeau traipsing through the castle. There was no way that was healthy for anyone, especially the mini-versions of themselves. She knew how she was as a kid, and she wouldn’t wish that on anyone. She’d been a bit of mess, but then, who wouldn’t be when they were being raised by a demented Death Eater brother?

Hopefully there weren’t any students living like she had, but that was a much too optimistic way to think, so she didn’t stay in that space of mind for too long. It didn’t matter who was dealing with what issues. No one would ever have a perfect life. That was simply a thing of fairy tales.

Laurette had more important things to focus on soon, as the Ravenclaw had asked her why this whole dating scene had interested her so much. He seemed like a decent enough guy, really, and they’d never had any real problems in the past. She took a deep breath, deciding that she might as well get used to the idea of people knowing and actually tell him what was on her mind.

“Well, Caldwell, I’m interested in relationships between the houses because I am kind of in one myself. You know the Head Boy…” she trailed, still stretching as if she hadn’t just revealed something that completely changed who she was. A cruel Slytherin like herself dating a sweet Puff like Tobi? That could seriously damage her reputation, but did she even like the reputation that she’d built? She wasn’t really sure anymore. It seemed more likely that she didn’t actually want to be the ‘Head Bitch’ that so many saw her as. There was some part of her inside that screamed this was not who she was meant to be.

The Head Girl bounced a bit on the balls of her feet before hopping to her toes, doing some simple dancing exercises as she’d planned for tonight. She wasn’t going to do a full out routine, but work on specific moves that she needed to perfect. “I wanted someone else’s perspective on things, I suppose. It isn’t every day you see a snake and a badger holding hands, after all.”

She also wondered how she might protect the boy from her brother’s rage, but she didn’t know who to ask about that. Probably another Slytherin would know best. For now, at least she might get a true reaction to her relationship of the past couple years. She’d at least know what to expect these next few weeks of revelations.

He gave her a look of complete perplexity. LeBeau and Vincent? Well there was a coupling he never would have expected. He had seen her go for the older boy's throat like the vicious wench she could be enough times to have ever thought there might be more behind it all. No more than sexual tension he had assumed and apparently assumed wrong. Sexual tension and some kind of awkward love no doubt. Riley wasn't sure if he was more baffled by the fact that the head girl was capable of actually caring for someone other than herself or that Vincent was taking on an actual relationship but then he realized he was in much the same position as the head boy with the exception that instead of a frigid ice queen he had the roaring lioness.

The Ravenclaw considered this revelation for a few moments before commenting any. So far LeBeau hadn't been half bad in this late night run in so that negated a lot of his previous thoughts about her since apparently she could actually play rather nicely. He didn't know the head boy all that well but he did know that Vincent was an alright kind of bloke with a reputation much like his own. Riley made a mental note to maybe seek out the head boy sometime in the future since if anyone more accurately understood his own position it would be Vincent. The problem was he didn't really know what to tell the head girl who was obviously expecting some kind of response from him.

"No, I can't say I do see that every day. I'm fairly sure I've never seen that in my five years here." He responded slowly, not wanting to say the wrong thing and piss her off. Not after this little impromptu meeting was going so well enough to have her confiding something like her relationship in him. Riley was positive that not many other people knew about it yet or he would've heard about it by now. Greatest part of being a Ravenclaw was the ease in which he could draw correct conclusions without needing to ask too many questions. The only problem he had was that he still didn't know how to answer her question or what to tell her. He was still learning the ropes himself.

"It's more difficult to find time together. Even more so when you've got extra responsibilities and curriculars. It's not like we can hang in each other's common rooms. I'm finding it to be a lot of effort and work." Riley explained honestly to her. He figured she had been honest with him so he could return the favor. His usual crooked smile appeared then as he added on, "But it's well worth it if you ask me and I don't mind slaving away for love."

“Yes, I do think our relationship is the most perplexing I’ve heard of, and I’ve heard of plenty. But I do believe I can agree with you on one key thing, Mr. Caldwell,” Laurette said with ease, doing some simple pirouettes and finding that his reaction wasn’t as bad as she’d expected. If everyone reacted as well as this Ravenclaw did, then Laurette figured she and Tobi would have very few real issues when their relationship finally got out.

“Yes, I figured there would be some trouble with the whole seeing each other business, but being co-heads makes that a bit less inconvenient than it could be. I suppose it will be a lot easier as well once we are actually open about the nature of our… relationship.” She’d been thinking about how much easier everything would be once she could stop hiding her love for Tobias a lot lately. It just seemed like a rather wonderful option, really, and she was looking forward to it.

The bird boy’s assessment of love and how it was worth pretty much anything struck something within her and she smiled at him. It was a gesture she so rarely did for anyone who wasn’t Tobi, and she was sure most people would be utterly shocked by it, but she didn’t worry. She and the Ravenclaw had been bonding in a rather odd fashion tonight, and it just seemed natural that she should offer him such kindness.

Even though it hadn’t been a long session, Laurette felt happy that she’d at least managed a bit of practice with her dancing, and she slowly toe-stepped to the prefect, heading towards the door as she passed him in silence. Upon reaching the door, she opened it and looked at him, holding it for him to go through. “It is later than I realized, Mr. Caldwell. I think we both should head to bed. This talk was… very nice, actually. Just, don’t tell anyone I have a kind streak. Wouldn’t want to ruin the image of your Head Girl, after all.”

She winked at him and pranced down the hall before he could offer to accompany her again. Laurette was afraid she’d run out of her ability to take such chivalry from someone she barely spoke to, and she actually didn’t want to upset this boy. He was… not so bad. She mentally slapped herself as she made her way back to her dorm, hoping she wasn’t going soft. That simply wouldn’t work for the Head Girl. Especially when Fletcher was still in her life…