Old Times (Vin / Keela) 4

[Shava]

Keela laughed empathetically. “I know what you mean”, she admitted. “Mum and dad still act like teenagers in some ways. I think it’s their way of making up for all the chaos while they were dating.” She tilted her head thoughtfully. She had never really begrudged her parents’ need to make up for lost time, but it didn’t make it hadn’t made it any less uncomfortable growing up. She shrugged, “I’m glad they’re happy, it’s better than the alternative. Grandmum and granddad, mum’s parents; they’re exactly the same.” It was rather funny actually, how much love there was in the house. She and Cern had unanimously declared the whole notion ‘disgusting’ as children, and promptly ignored most of the mushier displays. The thought made her smile.

The smile faded. Neither of them considered it disgusting anymore. The world of romance was relatively new to both of them. However, unlike previous years, both she and her brother were attempting to navigate the new territory. She wondered idly how Cern was faring, and whether he’d meet someone this year. Vin’s next question drew her from her thoughts, and she nodded. “Yes, so much of the old magic had gone into the foundation and making the place unplottable that the money ran out before it could be finished.” She shook her head. “That’s part of why dad needed the contract as much as mum did, so they could finish the house and turn a profit.” As it turned out, the loan hadn’t really been necessary since Keela’s mum had brought a good portion of her inheritance with her into their marriage, but her father’s pride had held for many years even after they’d gotten married.

“It is differen’t”, she acknowledged, “but in a good way.” She gave him a curious look, and he elaborated his statement. “If I were still into pranking people”, she teased him, “I might take that as a challenge.” The truth was, she did still enjoy the occasional prank, but as she sized up the boy sitting across from her, the idea of his retribution had her swiftly reconsidering. The cat, in a move that proved his differentiation as a familiar, looked first at Keela and then back at Vin, seeming to look for something. Without giving any indication of either success or failure, the cat took a few steps so that he was curled up on the edge of Vin’s lap nearest to Keela. She eyed Beethoven with a look of slightly amused affection. “I think he’s reserving judgment” she offered softly, laying a hand across her familiar’s back and stroking his shoulder blades with her fingers.

She grinned at him, “so you keep saying”, she smirked. “The thing is though, I’m not especially traditional, mum isn’t exactly big on the whole traditional female pureblood notion, scarring from her own experiences I think.” She shrugged, “I think I can manage three dates though. Sort of a three strikes you’re out concept, right?” The more she thought about it, the more it seemed fair. She hesitated, “I am eventually going to have to come clean to Cern”, she observed somewhat wearily. “He’s…I’m not sure what he’ll do. You can’t hex him though, promise?”

[Shava]

Grinning, he remembered the last time they had been cleared out of the house. "Mom usually gives a warning, like a thirty second get-out-of-the-house-now type of thing. We've learned how to clear out in a hurry. Parents can be more then a little embarrassing sometimes." His parents were still the intense type of relationship, hers sounded more laid back somehow in the way she spoke. Probably her parents didn't chase each other through the house or actually rip clothing off as he had unfortunately heard. Then again, Vincent's mother wasn't like many parents.

"Oh nice! Unplottable? Cool, always wondered how that works really when you experience it. Ours isn't, it's just sealed so only the family blood line can invite people into it and accept them. There's an old ghosts who seems to be the extension of the house's...well, magic I guess. Very old magic in that place, something like the 1200s I think." In fact his family home was pretty much worth a research paper on it's own! Then something she had said caught his ear. "Wait, your house turns a profit? How does that work?"

This time he made a grimace, knowing too well it wasn't going to happen.

"Trust me, the first two weeks of every school year plenty of people test it out. I go through more clothes then then the rest of the term. You'd think people would get tired of testing the theory every single freaking term with the newbies, telling them what to try. Nothing sticks, but it sure does ruin clothes." Craziness, but that was the way of people, prankers or not. The cat moved and Vincent chuckled as she passed her opinion. "Ah ha, I see how it is. Jaw rubbings are all I am good for apparently." he raised an eye at her comment about the three strikes and he hadn't been considering it that way.

"Something like that, yes, don't quite like the way you said it as much I have to admit," he said with a cough of laughter before he sobered up at her next statement. "Not really sure why you didn't tell him at least from the start, but no worries. I wasn't planning on messing with him at all. But I may speak to him if he comes at me, can't I? The way you described it I sometimes expect him to come after me with a beater's bat..." Not that he was worried in the slightest; he could handle her brother he thought. he would just have to do it with kid gloves to save her feelings if the boy turned aggressive. Unless he found another way of course.