Chapter: (Heaven Help) The Fool Who Falls In Love
Pairing: Dipper Pines/Pacifica Northwest
Word Count: +2,000 Words
Tags: hogwarts!au, reverse falls!au
Disclaimer: All properties belong to their rightful owners.

(Your Heart And My Heart Are) Very Old Friends

Chapter IV

Pacifica Northwest bounds up the stairs with thunderous footsteps and makes her way to the Ravenclaw tower. It's quite easy, actually, seeing as how everyone would quickly scurry out of her way as soon as they caught sight of the livid expression on her usually cheerful face. In fact, Pacifica is so furious you could practically see the steam coming out of her ears.

After an entire morning of having people ogle and point at her, whispering behind her back, and having to hear about why from a bunch of giggly, gossiping first years, she had had enough of this ridiculousness. Upon reaching her destination, she stands in front of the bronze eagle-shaped knocker with her arms crossed tightly across her chess and her foot tapping in impatience.

"Many have heard me but none have seen me, and I will not speak back until I am spoken to. What am I?" it asks her.

"An echo," she replies easily.

The door swings open and Pacifica mutters a quick "thank you" before she marches off into the blue and bronze common room to go murder someone. Her eyes quickly scan the surroundings for the culprit behind her misery. There, sitting by a table near one of the bookshelves, having tea with a few other Ravenclaws she didn't recognize, was Dipper Pines.

She promptly yanks his chair out and spins it around to face her. She takes a moment to relish the deer-in-the-headlights expression on his face before she leans in to glower, "You have some explaining to do."

It takes Dipper a couple of beats to regain his composure, but when he does, he wastes no time flashing her his trademark wolfish smile. "Pacifica," he cooes. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

She feels his breath on her as he speaks, and in an instant, she kicks the chair back in horror. Dipper goes flying back with a loud thump and he cusses under his breath, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ow. Okay then, the pleasure's all mine, I see."

"You tell me what the hell is going on right this instant, or so help me Merlin, I will send you flying through those glass windows and bring you back up just so I can do it again!" She demands, feeling the heat creep up on her neck.

The brunette smooths his robes coolly,"Love, I don't have the slightest — "

"Five seconds!" She poises her wand to attack. "Four!"

"Honestly, I don — "

"Three! I'll do it, you know."

He arches his eyebrow, "Oh, I have no doubt."

"Two!"

"Sit down and we can — "

"One!" she flourishes her wand at him threateningly. "Wingardium levio — "

"Expelliarmus!" he gets up from his seat in an instant and sends her wand flying out of her hands.

Flabbergasted and positively outraged, Pacifica shrieks and positions to jump at him when he holds his hands up in surrender.

"Alright, alright, fine!" He says through gritted teeth and looks around. "Let's go somewhere quiet."

He picks up her wand, hands it to her, and grips by the arm to drag her outside the common room.

"I can walk myself, thank you very much." She yanks herself away from him once they're in a secluded corner in the hallway.

He rolls his eyes at her in exasperation. "It's so great to see you too, Pacifica."

"What is this I've been hearing about you going around telling everybody we've been sleeping together?" She asks straightforwardly.

"Don't worry, according to them, you've been shagging me for ages now, so it should be old news by next week. Pity though, I will miss hiding in broom closets with you."

A dangerous glint lights up her eyes and Pacifica points her wand at his throat. "Don't play games with me, Pines. What the hell do you want?"

He chuckles and lowers her wand, leveling his icy blue eyes with her hazel brown orbs. "Just a little fun, is all. No need to be so hostile. Candy and Grenda saw me leaving the Gryffindor tower late the other day and just assumed on things on their own. I don't know why you were their first choice though, but things only escalated from there and...well, here we are."

"Well, what were you even doing in — " the blonde shakes her head. "You know what, I don't want to know. Did you say anything to them?"

"Of course I did," he says matter-of-factly and Pacifica sighs in relief.

So it should be all sorted out then, she thinks gratefully, Maybe this Pines twin isn't so awful after all.

He nibbles on her ear lobe and whispers, "I told them how great you were in bed."

"Oh, for Merlin's sake!" She fists his robes and slams him against the wall with a reverberating thud, attracting a small crowd of on-lookers. She hardly cares. She's too hellbent on her rage.

"Mason Fordham Pines!" she bellows so loudly practically the entire school could hear her voice echo through the halls. Dipper, being the unbearable arsehole he is, cackles his head off as she fumes. "You-You-You pompous, self-entitled, egomaniac, no-good lying sack of —"

"Now, Pacifica, I know how you like it rough, but please. Save it for later, love, this is a public place."

"Shut up, you unbelievable git! Why would you even say something like that? What the hell is wrong with you?! I could just kill you right now!"

And with that, she draws back her wand — surely to fire a curse at the idiot with a death wish in front of her, damned be twelve years in Azkaban! — when Dipper does the rashest, most idiotic, most unexpected thing he could possibly have ever thought to do in that moment.

He grabs her by the waist and crashes his lips against hers.

Howls and catcalls erupt from the gathering crowd as well as several jaws dropping to the floor at the sight of the usually stoic and stuck up Ravenclaw prefect with the Gryffindor chaser and resident troublemaker, and kissing her senseless.

"What the bloody hell does he think he's doing?" Dipper hears his sister, Mabel, remark hotly.

The seventh-year redhead, Wendy, whistles appreciatively. "Now that is Gryfindor courage!" She howls with laughter.

His mouth caresses her lips and he runs his fingers through her golden blonde locks, one hand cradling the back of her neck. Pacifica is too stunned to do anything, much less retaliate, so she simply stands there, frozen, as she closes her eyes and braces herself against him. Her mind goes blank to the feeling of his lips and the drumming in her chest, the questions that would be swirling in her head later pushed at the back of her mind.

He tastes like lemongrass and mint tea, the thought pops up suddenly. And she wonders how that became the answer to a question she never even asked.

"What in Merlin's name is going on here?" a stern voice from the crowd thunders.

The pair quickly break apart and snap their heads around to see Professor Stanford emerge from the mass of students watching them.

Pacifica curses under her breath, "Just my goddamn luck."

"Pines! Northwest!" their Defense Against Dark Arts professor scolds. "I expected you two to observe better decorum than this. Especially you, Pacifica."

She lowers her head to hide her reddening face, "I know, Professor, I'm sorry." So much for being his star pupil.

"And you," he turns to Dipper, who has a blank expression on his face, "You're acting like a disgrace of a Head Boy. Fifty points from Ravenclaw and thirty points from Gryfindor."

Dipper stares at him indignantly, "Sir, I hardly think that's — "

Professor Ford raises his hand in a silencing gesture. "And detention for a week for the both of you. I don't want anything like this to happen again, do you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, Professor," Pacifica says.

Dipper merely grunts his consent.

Professor Ford nods and turns to the crowd, "Alright, the rest of you, get to class immediately or I'll give you all detentions, too."

And just like that, the rooms transforms into a flurry of hurriedly leaving students and, without so much as another word to the pair of them, the professor turns and walks away with the crowd. Pacifica flushes with shame and spins around wildly to face Dipper.

"You!" She seethes, jabbing her finger at him. "This is all your fault!"

"My fault?" He sputters, narrowing his eyes at her. "I don't recall ever asking for a detention, Northwest."

"Well, we never would have gotten into detention if it weren't for your childish lies! How dare you go around telling people we slept together when I have never even so much as — "

"Excuse me, sweetheart, but maybe you should learn to get your facts straight: I never told anyone anything! They just went and made up stories all by themselves — "

" — shown the slightest interest in you, save for the occasional sneer I send your way! You have no idea just how much you drive me crazy, Pines, you insufferable little twat — "

" — and I would have denied them all if anyone had half a mind to damn well ask me instead of just spreading it around — "

"Well, it never would have spread in the first place if you'd just set the record straight right from the very beginning and — "

"How the hell was I supposed to know these losers didn't have anything better to do besides gossip about us — "

"Alright, that's ENOUGH!" her voice booms with finality. Screaming has drained the last of her energy, and Pacifica slumps down unto the steps of the stairs. "Everything's just ruined now. Professor Ford's furious with me and everyone's gossiping about me, saying I've shagged a guy I can't even stand, and I'm stuck doing detention for an entire week with the one person I hate the most in the entire world." She turns to him, tears building up in her eyes, "You've pretty much just ruined my entire day. No, my entire week! You happy now?"

Dipper doesn't give her answer.

"Oh, now you're quiet," she draws her legs closer to her chest, curling in on herself. "Why don't you just go fly away on your stupid broom and stay out of my life for good?"

After few beats of heavy silence, Dipper cautiously puts his hand on her arm. "Listen, um," he hesitates and color floods his cheeks. If she wasn't so upset right now, Pacifica would wonder if he's ever been at this much of a loss for words before. He shuffles his feet and jams his hands in his pocket. "I just..I just want to tell you..."

She looks at him expectantly.

"You're a great kisser," he says with a wicked grin.

"Flipendo!" Pacifica sends him flying out down the stairs.

In case you still haven't caught on yet, this one is simultaneously a Hogwarts!AU and Reverse Falls!AU where Pacifica is a Gryffindor, Dipper's a Ravenclaw, Mabel's a Slytherin, and Wendy's a Hufflepuff. So I know I haven't updated in forever but let me just skip through my usual "college is hectic blah blah blah" and give everyone who's followed, favorited, and reviewed a big, warm hug! I say this a lot but I really can't believe how well-received this fic is! Thank you so much to every single reader I have. I love you all. You're the reason why I do what I do.

Anyway, this was just an idea I got when I reread Order of the Phoenix. Feel free to leave me prompts, too! I'd love it if you guys could help me out of my creative stumps every once and a while. 'Till next time!

xoxo Amaya