Artificial Affections
A/N: Woo, double digits! It's Round TEN of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, and this is SO exciting! :D Let's get into the prompts now!
Main Prompt: A forbidden relationship between two characters from rival schools.
Optional Prompts:
4. (word) careless
6. (word) reach
14. (word) euphoria
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, that honor goes to Queen Jo!
Sit back, relax, and enjoy!
Leo Magness put on his customary bored look as his grey eyes lazily scanned the Great Hall. They made contact with the hazel ones of a pretty Hufflepuff blonde, who smiled at him; he smirked in return, which made her blush a bright red.
A few seats down, Draco Malfoy, a student two years younger than him, was bragging about knowing of some mysterious event that he was probably overexaggerating. "My father, you see, works at the Ministry. He knows things. It's something big! But I'm not sure if I'm allowed to tell you," the pale-haired fourth year finished dramatically, obviously relishing in all the attention.
Leo rolled his eyes and clutched his dark-haired head as if he had a headache. "Malfoy, please shut the hell up."
That wiped the smirk off Malfoy's face. "Keep up that attitude, Magness, and my father will hear about something. He has connections."
Leo really did not have time for a petty, immature Malfoy. He was starving, and he eagerly anticipated the welcoming feast. "We'll find out whatever it is soon enough. Dumbledore'll tell us."
"Well, Dumbledore's a–"
Leo didn't catch Malfoy's next words as he averted his attention to Headmaster Dumbledore, who stood up, his mere presence spreading a hush over the entire hall.
And during that speech, Leo found out what Malfoy was talking about: the Triwizard Tournament.
And Leo almost threw the pudding at Malfoy's smug face.
Leo was with the rest of the school when the enormous Beauxbatons carriage arrived. Despite his tall stature, he had to crane his neck to see the students rush out of the door.
His first thought was that the French girls were very, very pretty, and that those accents were bloody confusing.
As he seated himself next to his friends Alastair and Jamie, a group of girls clad in pale blue passed by, chattering in that language of theirs. He caught a few words as they passed by.
"Ariane, que c'est que la livre?"
A particularly beautiful girl responded with, "'Ogwarts: Une Histoire."
As they chatted about what Leo was fairly certain was how strange Hogwarts and its customs were, he couldn't help but stare as she walked by, in the least creepy way possible, of course.
His friends hid their grins in their pumpkin juice. Leo eventually tore his eyes away and glared at them.
As he made his way to classes, he didn't notice Jamie charm his emerald green tie a Beauxbatons powder blue. He also never noticed Alastair slipping a few drops of iridescent pink liquid into his customary morning flagon of pumpkin juice.
"Mr. Magness, are you a Beauxbatons student?" came Snape's drawl in Potions.
Was this a trick question? "No, Professor?" It came out like a question.
"Then why, exactly, is your tie blue?"
As the class sniggered, Leo gaped at the offensive article of clothing, then put the pieces together: of course Jamie had noticed him staring at that Beauxbatons girl – Arielle, wasn't it? – and just taken matters into his own hands.
He turned to his left and glared at Alastair and Jamie, who were smirking triumphantly, sending them a rude hand gesture when Snape wasn't looking.
When the Professor had his back turned, Alastair threw him a note that read, "We were just increasing your chances. I don't think Beaubatons girls like Hogwarts blokes very much."
To which Leo replied, "I don't think they like your spelling very much. It's 'Beauxbatons', you nitwit."
Leo had the worst luck. He was only sixteen, a sixth year, and therefore unable to put his name into the Goblet of Fire. He had, however, asked a friend to put in his name, but apparently the parchment had gone up in purple ashes, unlike the way others' had. Still, he would hold onto some hope.
It turned out that Ariane (he'd found out that no, it wasn't Arielle, a while back) had accompanied her brother for moral support and was also too young to compete.
She really was very pretty, with her honey hair and lightly tanned skin and sparkling golden-brown eyes, Leo couldn't help but notice.
The entire hall sat on the edges of their seats as the Goblet of Fire erupted into flames.
Viktor Krum (yes, the famous Bulgarian Seeker) was, of course, the Durmstrang champion.
Fleur Delacour had been selected for Beauxbatons. Leo caught the sympathetic look Ariane gave her older sister and hoped dearly that both would stay to watch the Tournament.
Cedric Diggory was the Hogwarts champion.
And then...Harry Potter? Oh, of course it was Harry Potter. It was always Harry Potter screwing things up. Leo was holding onto the fact that after two years, Potter would no longer be going on some stupid exam-cancelling adventures that would screw up the credentials for his future.
No, really, he had to take his N.E.W.T.'s next year, and he really needed a decent score on those, dammit.
The Yule Ball had been announced, and Leo decided to try and ask Ariane Bellerose to be his date.
But first he had to look irresistible. Well, he was already quite attractive, but he wanted to specially groom himself. After all, he did quite like this girl, even if she was from a different school that thought Hogwarts was below it and really wanted to win this particular tournament to even out the number of wins between themselves (Hogwarts had won the Tournament sixt-three times, Beauxbatons sixty-two).
But it wasn't as if they'd never interacted before; Leo had passed her the pudding when she'd left the Ravenclaw table for it. He had been extremely aware of Alastair and Jamie failing miserably at stifling their grins as he made an awkward fool of himself by complimenting her skin. Her skin, dammit.
He mussed up his wavy dark hair a little more, adjusted his tie, and attempted to make his appearance exude a careless handsomeness.
""Eet is very cold in 'Ogwarts!" he heard Ariane complain to her friends as he strode to meet her.
The girls around her murmured in agreement, fiddling with their powder blue gloves.
When he finally managed to reach Ariane, he shrugged off his cloak and draped it around her. She looked a little surprised, but then smiled graciously. "Thank you Monseiur–"
"Leo. Leo Magness."
Confusion etched itself on her face. "But you're a Sleetherin."
"So?"
"Sleetherin has a snake. Greefeendor is the lion. 'Leo' means 'lion'."
He shrugged. "Irony, I reckon."
She cracked a smile at that.
He cleared his throat, which was suddenly very dry. "So," he began awkwardly.
She prompted him to go on with an expectant tilt of her head.
"Um, could I talk to you? Privately?"
Ariane's friends seemed to have already guessed what he was going to ask her; they stood a little far off, giggling and whispering and giving him knowing looks.
She smiled, but there was a hint of mischief in the curve of her lips. "Thees eez about as private as eet gets."
Leo coughed nervously, but found his words; he was quite good with the ladies, and he could do this. "Would you give me the pleasure of going to the Yule Ball with you?"
She laughed. Leo drily wondered whether he had something that spectacularly hilarious. But even though she wa laughing at him, she was insanely beautiful. Leo wondered exactly when he would make an ass of himself after witnessing tha beau
Ariane gasped for breath. "Sorry, but you're not my type."
That left Leo utterly nonplussed. "Sorry?"
"I prefer the Durmstrang boys."
And then she left Leo with a crushed heart, walking away to join her laughing friends.
She wasn't just beautiful; she was sly and witty and always had the people around her laughing.
Apparently several other Hogwarts students (both boy and girl) had asked her to the ball, too, including Draco Malfoy. She'd refused them all.
Everyone was dressed in lovely, elegant dress robes. (Except for maybe Ron Weasley, who was decked in a hideously frilly garment.)
Leo spotted Ariane almost immediately, her shimmery pale pink gown catching his eye. She was so beautiful.
He'd lost his date, a fifth year Hufflepuff called Anise, to some Durmstrang wizard he didn't particularly care to learn the name of.
He was chatting with Jamie and Alastair when he noticed Ariane sitting alone.
He summoned up all his Slytherin courage and went up to her; now was his chance.
"May I have this dance?" he asked as suavely as possible.
Ariane looked up and smiled. "You may."
Dancing and chatting with Ariane, Leo experienced something akin to the taste of an Elixir to Induce Euphoria. It was al so magical.
"Mate, when d'you think he'll find out that he doesn't actually fancy that Beauxbatons bird?" Jamie asked Alastair, leaning against the table of drinks.
"Dunno, but it'll be a right laugh when he does," Jamie replied, tucking a half-empty bottle of pink love potion into his pocket.
A/N: Annnnd scene! Did you like it? I'd love to hear all feedback and criticism. Review, PM, follow, favorite, whatever floats your boat!
Ink on!
Lil' Quill