"Hey." The faerie greeted him from her spot by the fire. "There's the champion. I wasn't sure if you'd come by or not. I hear the Gryffindor common room is going off right now." She was still wearing Lonnie's sweater but he had a feeling she'd get rid of it shortly. A smile slowly crept onto his face, hand reaching for hers before dragging her out of the room and all the way up to the portrait of the Fat Lady. Mal had never been to a party before and if he had to suffer a house party, he was dragging her down with him.
Mal had not been expecting the noise coming from the Gryffindor common room, the party already in full swing. Cheers erupted when they saw Ben but curious eyes very quickly wandered over to Mal. Their Captain had always brought Audrey up to celebrate their wins, the Hufflepuff escorting Ben on a lap of the common room before settling down by the fire to Ben's attention being solely on her. The absence of the girl told the team all they needed to know, Audrey was no longer with Ben but did that mean Mal was his new girlfriend?
Jay bounded over to Mal, sweeping her up in a big hug before leading her over to a table full of snacks. The thief was more of a team player than she was, he thrived knowing the party was for him. Well for him and his team mates, but that meant it was for him. It also didn't help that she was a Slytherin in the Gryffindor common room. The old feuds were dead but that didn't mean the lions were going to welcome a snake into their house.
Walking around the common room Ben made sure to speak to everyone at least once, his eyes flicking over to Mal every so often to make sure she was okay. The girl was currently sitting by the window, watching Jay as he entertained the team with a ridiculous stunt. Lonnie stood beside the girl, the only one who seemed to want to talk to her other than the bold thief.
Taking the center of the floor Ben announced that house games would commence earning a cheer from the crowd. Usually Ben sat on the sidelines with Audrey and watched the rest of the house play but this time he was joining in the fun. The first event was the quaffle relay. Teams of two had to take it in turns to put a quaffle between their knees and make their way to the other end of the common room, around a table and back to the starting line. Grinning from ear to ear Ben chose Jay as his partner for the race before naming Mal and Lonnie as challengers.
Taking their positions Jay and Lonnie were to go first. Jay took the lead first, his longer legs helping him on this course but Lonnie was more agile when it came to taking the corner around the table, making up for lost time so they crossed the starting line almost at the same time. Lonnie was faster with passing the quaffle over, giving Mal an extra couple of seconds to start waddling to the other end of the room but Ben wasn't too far behind her and he had longer legs. Mal scowled, this was ridiculous, there was no way she'd beat him if she had to waddle like a duck. But then…the rules never said anything about how you had to cross the line. Smirking the girl began to bounce like a bunny, propelling herself further and faster than she would if she was waddling. It took her no time at all to catch up to Ben and pass him. "Just like a Slytherin to cheat." He called after her as she bounded past him and on to cross the finish line.
Turning back around Mal smirked, tossing her quaffle to bounce off his chest as he waddled towards the finish line. "You said I had to go around the table and back with a quaffle between my legs, you never said I had to walk it. Therefore it's not cheating, I'm just smarter than you." Finally reaching the finish line Ben bowed, acknowledging her win and passing the faerie and her partner the celebratory butter beers that accompanied winning a challenge. Taking a seat beside her they watched the next couple of challenges with Ben eventually being called up to compete again. No one else called Mal out to challenge them but they weren't keeping their distance from her either.
Eventually Ben found Mal curled up on one of the armchairs by the fire. Most of the other Gryffindors had made their way up to bed but a few were still enjoying the food that was left. Not wanting to wake her Ben lifted the girl up into his arms and carried her up to his dorm room. Jay watched silently as the Prince removed her sweater and shoes before laying her down in his bed and tucking her in. Tucking a stray curl behind her ear he gave her a soft smile before grabbing some extra blankets and making his own bed on the floor between his bed and Jay's. The thief nodded to himself, Ben might not know how he felt but everyone else did. Well, everyone except Mal. This was going to be interesting to watch.
Jay snickered as one by one the boys in their room woke up, noticing the Prince sleeping on the floor before spotting the purple-haired girl in his bed. No one seemed to know what to make of it. Audrey always left the parties at a reasonable hour, requesting Ben walk her back to her own house common room. Sometimes he was in the mood to join in the games when he returned, other times he headed straight to bed but with Mal everything was different. Their Captain and Prince hadn't remained by her side instead he'd dragged her into a challenge, something Audrey would've never allowed, and Mal seemed perfectly content to just watch the rest of the games. Sometimes Mal cheered for Ben, other times she heckled him from the sidelines, both earning snorted laughter from the boy. She hadn't demanded to be walked back to her room she'd just curled up on a chair and fallen asleep, it was Ben who'd decided she needed a bed while remaining a gentleman and taking the floor. In fact, every interaction they'd witnessed had been nothing you wouldn't expect from good friends and yet they couldn't help feeling there was more to it then that.
Ben woke first, snickering at the faerie sprawled over his bed. She was not a morning person and it would probably take a big cup of coffee to tempt her out from under the covers. A quick nod to Jay was all it took, he knew the other boy would watch out for her while he was gone. First on his list was her room, stopping to grab some fresh clothes for her, before continuing on to the kitchens for her beloved coffee.
A rich aroma filled her senses, it was an unmistakable scent she'd come to associate with all things good about the world. Pink lips curled into a lazy smile as she reached for it only to have it dance out of reach. Ben. Only he would be so mean as to keep her from her precious elixir. "You know for a Prince you're actually rather twisted and cruel." Humming his agreement the boy placed a cup on the table for her. Green eyes stared at the practically minuscule cup before glaring at him. "Where's the rest of it?"
Ben chuckled, tossing her clothes to the girl. "Get dressed and meet me in the common room. You'll get the rest then." He slipped out the door closing it behind him and laughed when he heard a pillow hit the door. Yes he was tempting the dragon but that was half the fun.
The common room froze as a glowering dragon stormed in, eyes focused on the Prince. "Ben, I want my coffee." Not at all phased by her harsh demeanor he merely chuckled and indicated the seat beside him, a steaming mug of coffee already waiting for her. Placated the girl took her seat, downing the mug's contents in one go. Laughter soon returned to the room, the lions slowly returning to what they were doing while Ben slowly tempted Mal into conversation.
May your thoughts and creativity flow
-Lady Ami DragonHeart