f a d e to black + [Oione]

[Orion Lupin]

Walking around the castle was becoming a bore to Orion. Seriously, when you had to walk around the same path every other night, would you be bored too? So Orion, being Head Boy and all, decided to just give one of the more eager Prefects some extra duties so Orion could explore a new path today. Orion walked to the front of the castle, out the large doors and outside, into the grounds of Hogwarts. It took a second for the chill to reach him, but it didn't bother him. Rather it made the night better, it was the type of weather he would have preferred outside at this hour. He stuck his hands in his pockets, his want in his cloak pocket as he proceeded to walk around slowly, not entirely sure where he wanted to go.

Still in his school uniform, but more comfortable, as in his sleeves rolled up, his shirt untucked and his tie loosened, he was a bit tired but who needed sleep? Using the moon's light to guide he slowly made his way to the Forbidden Forest, he was sure to possibly run into a few students in the younger years wondering about, but otherwise he would be alone, or at least he hoped he ran into a familiar face. The moon was unusually bright tonight, and looking up he realized it was a full moon. Wasn't that ironic? His father would no doubt be already transformed by this hour and he worried about his mother. As for his father? He could care less really, being related to him had been more a curse than a blessing.

Reaching the edge he peering inside first, hoping to find someone he could give detention too. That was always fun. Both his parents had been in Gryffindor while in school, Orion was in Ravenclaw but he'd heard his mother mention whether or not he should be in Slytherin sometimes. Orion was of course not supposed to hear these things, but she never found out. It seemed that all the hate he'd built up over the years just made him who he was. Finally he reached a small clearing in the forest and he sat down on an abandoned tree trunk, admiring the forest silently and waiting for anybody to walk by.

[meh. not that good. haven't rped Harry Potter style in a while ]

[Oione Mireault]

Ever so stealthily Oione sneaked out of the castle once again, watching her back with exaggerated care: for Prefects and...for Seth, who lately had developed a rather frustrating ability of finding out where she was.

Frankly speaking the night was young and Miss Mireault did not feel like spending it in bed, too much rage rushing through her veins thanks to the Unfortunate Incident at the Shack (capital letters mandatory) to let her fall asleep.
In her head she had murdered Seth a thousand times in a million of different ways.
She started to think seriously about it, growing alarmed as subconsciously she planned thoroughly how to surreptitiously get into the boys' dormitory and take his life quietly while he slept.

Deciding that getting a breath of fresh air was the only thing that could restrain her form committing a crime that was sure to have her sent for a lifetime in Azkaban (or give her the Order of Merlin Third Class for saving the world from Seth Silver's damaging presence) Oione swiftly jumped out of her bed and quickly got dressed in some random clothes she had found near her bedside table (though she was not entirely sure that they were hers), not lighting a simple candle as it would certainly wake someone up.
The only creature not still awake in the dungeon apart form Mireault herself was her cat, which meowed softly when unceremoniously thrown away from the pile of robes.

Finally on the school grounds she felt free and somewhat relieved.
The air of change hung in the air though she couldn't read what kind of change it was carrying through the night. For good? For bad? Or for something completely different and unexpected?
The night was cold and silvery, though windless for the lake's surface was perfectly still like the surface of a finely done mirror.
And as she looked past the lake Oione noticed that there was flaw on the dark green nightly landscape of the Forbidden Forest (that wasn't as forbidden as the teachers would like it to). Tall, black and definitely humanoid.

Briskly Oione marched towards it, raising her brows slightly surprised indeed by the person she recognized in the silhouette.
However, swiftly her expression turned into a one with narrowed eyes and a sly smile.
"Well, well...Mr.Lupin the Head Boy. Quitting with the 'setting a good example for everyone' image or looking for solace at the dead of night?"

((yours was fine, mine just sucked))

[Orion Lupin]

<sup>Orion had not been sitting there very long when his mind had begun to wander and the little things distracting him. Yes he was either very bored or suffering from a lack of sleep, though he figured the former. It was then that out of the corner of his eye he saw a figure and as he looked in the direction that he had just entered from there was someone walking this way. Well who would be heading out to this forest at this unholy hour? He got his answer as she stepped into the clearing, apparently already recognizing him. He grinned slightly at her remark. "The latter I suppose." He said standing up.

"But now the question is, what are you doing here?" He asked her in return. Last time he checked being Head boy worked toward his advantage in places such as the Forbidden Forest. If a professor happened to walk by, wondering what he was doing here, his reply would be something along the lines of 'I was patrolling' or something. So there was his excuse but where was hers? Orion knew that he wasn't going to give Oione detention or anything, even if she was a Slytherin, there was just something inside of him that stopped him from doing so. No, it definitely wasn't fear, something else. But he would figure it out later.

Orion glanced once more to the full moon, the light rained down right over the clearing in which they stood, and then he looked back to her and noticed how the moonlight made her look. But then a thought came to his head, she was alone tonight, odd. She was usually always with Silver at least, where was he tonight? Orion sensed that maybe she just needed her space or something, but he wasn't about to ask. Of all people, Orion knew how unbelievably annoying Seth Silver could become, enough to were you just wanted to hex him on the spot. But Orion had his position to keep as much as Silver tempted him so by reminding him who he was unfortunate enough to receive as a father.

"Not with Silver tonight? Or did you manage to finally shake him off?" He asked her, sitting down again. He was joking of course and didn't mean anything bad toward her, or how she was friends with Seth.</sup>

[Oione Mireault]

She leaned herself on the tree bark, smiling lazily at him though at the back of her head she was pummeling herself for not dressing in a better set of robes as she found her current ones being far from what she would have called impressive.

"But now the question is, what are you doing here?"
Oione gave a low chuckle, looking up at him with both good humour and slyness, ignoring the fact that her heart gave a few faster beats. Self-confidence was everything, after all.
"But Mr. Lupin, I'm not even here" she said with a tone of delicate protest, as though she was a little child accused of something it hadn't done but fully intended on doing. "I'm simply an unwanted by-product of your overloaded with Head Boy duties, stressed with the upcoming N.E.W.Ts and tired from the lack of sleep brain. I'm nothing more than a hallucination, Mr. Lupin"
It was a rather twisted smirk she gave him.
Not that Oione expected Orion to take points from her or put her in detention, strangely enough she had never have much problem with Prefects even if she caused damage comparable with that cause by Seth.
She would just send them the most charming smile, as though she was damsel in distress caught as a prisoner of war and they appeared there not to stop the mayhem but to save the poor lass from Seth the Barbarian.
They'd blush and swallow hard and say 'Uh...yeah, well...no problem, really...if you need help just tell me....oh and make it five points from Slytherin instead of twenty' or something along those lines. She could make people feel special and unique around her when she wanted and that swept the riverbank of disapproval like a wave. It was the female Prefects she was concerned about.

Apart of course from ones like Cecil Marzel and the Head Boy himself as they weren't ones fooled by cheap dramatics and moist eyes. However, she had always been on splendid terms with them.
She would never lower herself to trying to butter up Orion Lupin, even though her parent called a half-breed, a blood-traitor and Merlin-knows-what-else. From the minute she met him Oione held bits of respect towards the older boy, which was already a lot by her personal standards. Not to mention that he was quite intriguing, not in the thoroughly mysterious, enigmatic sort of way as Marzel was...but intriguing nevertheless. Not exactly bad-looking either.

"Not with Silver tonight? Or did you manage to finally shake him off?"
Immediately Oione eyes were cast down as though the topic itself brought her pain.
"I do not speak to him anymore. I do not speak of him anymore. " she replied simply.

[Orion Lupin]

Orion listened to her explanation about her being simply an allusion created by his tired brain. The idea was amusing and absurd at the same time, all his life Orion had conditioned his brain to not rely on sleep, so naturally he wasn't about to sleep now. "I'm sure you are." He replied, "And if you are really a hallucination, then I could do just about anything I could with you, right?" He said jokingly. Wouldn't that be amusing? He would keep that in mind for whenever he really was hallucinating for whatever reason. He imagined the whole of Slytherin loved Oione for her ability to not lose house points, unlike some people.

Having been a Prefect before, Orion knew how some often worked and the small amounts of corruption that occurred. Not that he minded, life went on no matter what happened. But some like Oione, by using easy tactics managed to get away with most of what they wanted, or at least a reduced house point loss. Orion wasn't easily fooled by these tactics but he often let some slide, like Oione for example. Why? He wasn't exactly sure, but there was just something about her, maybe it was just the fact that he was a guy and Oione happened to be a girl, a very attractive one at that.

He sensed the change in Oione's temperament just as he asked the question on Seth. Seems he must have a pushed a button he shouldn't have, and now he wondered what to say, so that he didn't seem like he was prying. "Sorry." He managed to mumble. "So, beautiful night, wouldn't you say?" He asked, changing the subject. Orion looked up at the sky again, ignoring the full moon, it reminded him of the father he hated so much. But then he noticed the constellations and the one he knew the best. He'd almost forgotten that his name he been derived from the constellation Orion the Hunter. His mother had called it 'his' as if the starts were up for possession.

He pushed those thoughts out of his mind, for the memories were good but they held roots in his history that only brought him pain.

[Oione Mireault]

Oione chuckled shaking her head lightly, clearly amused that Orion decided to play along and pretend the bought (the unbelievably cheap) story.
"Meaning what exactly, Mr.Lupin? Would you finally give into the temptation and take points from her?" said the girl, trying hard to keep her face straight and conceal that Cheshire grin that was threatening to escape. "I would not advise doing that, personally. You can't possibly take points from a hallucination, can you? More over real Oione would be rather disappointed. You are her her favourite Head Boy, after all." she replied, politely with an air of false naivety like someone who answered with that particular line only because they wished to hide something much more devious.

Besides there's no more points to take after our latest escapade, added Oione but only in her thoughts.
She may have saved up quite a lot when dealing with male Prefect but both the female ones and teachers were much less merciful.
This was silly, but nevertheless entertaining and she had nothing against acting like a kid (even though a rather twisted one ) once in a while; brought up in a family like hers she needed to grow up very fast (even if she still had more of a childhood that Seth had), leaving all the childish games behind when there was the ideal time to play them.
A bit of escapism hadn't really killed anybody, had it?

"Sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry about, really." she said immediately in a brisk tone.
There were much more important things than that. Or at least she feverishly wanted to believe that there were; even though the boy in question was the source of all her trouble and turmoil without being much aware of it.
It was 'now' that counted and now she was with Orion Lupin. Probably the only person left that could her make feel somewhat happier in this gloomy week that turn out to last longer than a month.
She looked up to the stars, having not remembered when last she went stargazing.
"Indeed. It is beautiful. Eternally beautiful, which makes it slightly frightening. I guess that's why so many people don't look up"

Even if it lasted shorter than a second Oione noticed how quickly Orion's turned his gaze away from the moon. They had never spoken of his father and she never asked.
However, she wondered if he felt some changes due to it phase, it was clear, of course that he did not transform, but Oione was curious if something inside, hid from prying eyes, changed.
She followed his gaze.
Ah. Orion. Even if not worth a damn at Astronomy she had no problems recognizing that one.
"According to Greeks he was a remarkable hunter"
Oh. Pretty much pointing out the obvious, huh?, Oione berated herself.
"Are you a hunter, Mr. Lupin?"

[Orion Lupin]

"Sounds very tempting, but no. And please, don't call me Lupin." He answered, standing up and walking over to a tree he could lean upon, near Oione. His initial answer about doing what he pleased to a hallucination could have been taken in many ways, but Orion was not about to reveal his initial meaning behind his message. "Really? Who says I can't?" He replied, being Head Boy gave him this immense power that he sometimes wished he didn't have. But it had its perks, he was just joking with Oione of course, he wouldn't take away house points from her. "Am I really now? How do I know she isn't lying then?" He added, well it was good to know you weren't entirely hated from the Slytherin crowd. There was at least one rebel among their ranks.

This conversation was getting very amusing, talking about hallucinations and whatnot. Orion hadn't really experienced these childish games very often at all, having grown up an only child. And while at Hogwarts he never associated with the other students more than he had to, even he had to grow up very fast with the troubles in his family and he had to be a man to face his father and hate him the way he did. Now that he thought about it, he never remembered giving Oione any reduction of house points. Odd. But as to why? He wasn't sure on just one answer, but kudos to her for actually helping Slytherin in their house point situation.

Orion felt as if he may have entered a touchy subject for Oione, about Seth. After all the last time he checked they were inseparable friends, if just that, but he was sure of the former, or at least he told himself he was. Orion himself could not stand the presence of someone as Seth, he was more than just your typical Slytherin, he overdid in his mind and just annoyed the hell out of him. Maybe he had begun to annoy Oione too, or maybe he just plain pissed her off. For now Orion just stargazed to take his mind of whatever was bothering everyone. "Are you scared of it?" He asked, his gaze wanting to meet her eyes as he wondered whether she was part of those who were frightened. He himself was not scared, his earlier life had been spent staring at the night sky.

That is why there were some touchy subjects that Orion would not discuss about himself either, his father for one or any of his family background for that matter. It just brought back the reminder of what he really was and what his parents really were. It was enough he was forced to carry the last name of the one man he hated the most, but to be ridiculed for it was too far, but he just dealt with it over the years. Even looking at the moon, he felt different with the different phases, but didn't know what it all meant. Probably a side effect of having a Werewolf as your father and a Metamorphmagus as your mother. It was all just out of the ordinary.

His gaze was stuck for a bit on the constellation that shared his name, his middle name anyway, the one he would go by. Orion nodded at her comment, indeed the constellation was of Orion the hunter the archer. Her question made him shift his focus to her and he looked away from the sky and his eyes settled on hers. "It really depends on what I could hunt." He replied. There were many things to be hunted, inanimate and not. There were of course the physical things, such as animals and such. But Orion leaned more on the thoughts, ideas and emotions maybe, so in a sense along with being Head Boy he was a hunter.

[Oione Mireault]

Oione bowed her head lightly in silent agreement.
She had no idea what the relations was between the son and his father and she would rather not get involved in something that was meant to stay private, not to mention it wouldn't be a pleasant for them both.
"How am I, a humble Slytherin, refer to you then, oh almighty Head Boy?" she said it very carefully, trying to keep her voice steady and bottle up the snort of laughter that threatened to erupt.
"Really? Who says I can't?"
Oione leaned closer, with a little, insolent, sly smile.
"As I said, she isn't even there" it was again, a sort of amused whisper. "Therefore taking points from me would be utterly pointless" Or Slytherin'd be pointless if you decided the latter, though Oione quickly. "Not to mention, not a good sign of your mental health, I daresay."
"Am I really now? How do I know she isn't lying then?"
Oione batted her lashes, which was supposed to make her look innocent but did not do the trick.
"Oh, simply because she is the most truthful person you happened to meet and you are better than the Head Girl to say the least"

Nobody said it was going to be easy. With her and Seth, that is.
Knowing each-other from childhood they weren't likely to form a friendship, not when they were at each-other's throat the whole time.
Now, after all those years it was more of an addiction; I won't give it up because I don't want to, I won't give up because I can't.
He, annoyed her of course and vice versa, that was what Seth Silver did. Annoyance multiplied by seven.

"No, I'm not" she said "I just don't look at it too often. You can't really see much in the dungeons. And I'm pants at Astronomy so I don't really think it would change much."
This particular subject had always been a bit of pain, partly because she knew that Seth had either done or was planning on doing something to the telescopes they used since it was something he would (or they both would in fact) find funny and partly because she really didn't see the point of naming stars and planets; Mars didn't care what its name was, why the bloody hell should they?

"It really depends on what I could hunt."
She held his gaze and smirked.
"The possibilities are endless, aren't they? We snakes, like to hunt"

((ohh, it's crap))

[Orion Lupin]

It was enough that he had to carry the last name of Lupin, he would have much preferred something else, but he didn't have a choice. So he rebelled a little from the name by refusing to be called by it. He had a first name for a reason, so why didn't they use it. "I have a first name for a reason." He replied, noting the way she had asked her question. This was funny to her and amusing to him, so they were both having fun out of this. She leaned closer to him, so that she was a little less than a half a foot or so away from him. "I suppose you have a good point." He replied moving a little away from the tree, but in her general direction. "But I'm not convinced that my mental health is failing me, and that your are indeed a hallucination." He tested her, just for the heck of it, who knew maybe she would do something just to disprove that she wasn't a hallucination.

He almost rolled his eyes as she batted her eyelashes at him, even if she was trying to pull something it wouldn't have worked on him, god knows how many girls have tried that. "Well I'll let the Head Girl know that I'm more popular than her. He answered to her comment. The fact that he was a Ravenclaw and not a Gryffindor most likely added to his popularity, but probably by not much, but it didn't bother him either way. He was the Head Boy, so nobody messed with him usually, except one, Seth who was already on his bad side, but nothing he could really do about that now could he?

"Me neither, especially on nights like these." He answered glancing quickly at the sky again. He only went stargazing to search for his constellation, but usually not on a full moon night, rather when the moon was hardly there or not at all. But there were exceptions. He hated full moon nights, they were full of insomnia and often pointless nightmares, curse his father for what he was. Orion wasn't bad at astronomy, but he wasn't too good at it either. It was a really an almost pointless subject sometimes, really when in your life are you going to use this stuff again? But because of his status, academics was a priority, not by choice of course.

There eyes were locked now, but not that there was much of a distance between them in the first place. "Indeed, there are many possibilities." He repeated just to agree with her. "What is it that you prey upon? 'Cause last time I checked, Ravens preyed on snakes." He added, moving just a bit closer to Oione. The whole hunting thing, it was more of a metaphor, but it was also ironic in a sense with his name and their respective houses. This was getting interesting, he was glad that he'd ventured out into the forest tonight.

[Oione Mireault]

"It is not your first name as far as I am concerned" Oione responded smoothly, though not intending to argue upon the matter.
"As you wish, Orion"
It sounded strange, uttered from her lips for something that felt like the first time since the girl couldn't remember when she had last called the Head Boy by his first (or technically middle) name. Usually it was Lupin that, Lupin this (from Seth's ranting) or Mr. Lupin as McGonagall and the rest staff referred to him.
A tiny wrinkle appeared on Oione's forehead as she appeared digruntled with the result.
"Orion" she tried again in a different tonation, with her slightly prolonged and very French 'r'.
Good. I like it, she thought, a noble name.

"But I'm not convinced that my mental health is failing me, and that your are indeed a hallucination."
"Oh, dear. Is that so?" she didn't even flinch when mildly accused of telling untruth. Another useful trait of a natural born liar. "What am I to do in order to prove that you indeed need to consult the school nurse? Maybe something that real Oione would never do?" she added, smiling with poisonous sweetness like someone who is very sure of what they are going to prove. "Minus jumping of any of the castle's towers, of course. Because even though the Oione is sometimes tempted to do so in moments of burning frustration her hallucination is not as thick to go and try it"
She grinned, this whole silly game was undeniably amusing and somewhat...refreshing. It was easier to act on ease and with a certain dose of playfulness when you weren't entirely serious.

"What is it that you prey upon? 'Cause last time I checked, Ravens preyed on snakes."
Oh, bugger.
Mentally Oione had been just performing the 'Why do I have to be so dumb when it comes to the food chain. WHY?!' scene. but it did not mean that her collection of remarks was at shortage.
"Rodents, mainly." she said with a Cheshire grin and it was up to the Head Boy to assume whether she was using a metaphore or if she was really dwelling upon the diet of snakes.
"Especially badgers." Oione winked playfully at him. "Hard to swallow, though. But quite yummy. Though personally I'm into lions. Even harder to swallow, but positively delicious. The hair is a bit of a problem there too."
A low chuckled came from her as she pondered all this.
"As for ravens, you are indeed right." she turned towards him once again, they were close enough for him to see the predatory glint in her turquoise eyes. "But can possibly a wounded raven escape a lethal embrace of a powerful python?"