A Touch of Rouge [[OPEN]]

Aoife was going to be late. She was going to be so late! She was going to be late to Charms, no less! She'd walk in and everyone would be sitting down, and they'd all stare at her, and Professor Michaels would probably be cross, but she had to pee. She was about to explode! She wouldn't be able to hold it, not through the entire class. Why, oh why, had she drunk so much pumpkin juice at lunch? Maybe Professor Michaels would understand. She'd had to come all the way from the Greenhouses. It wasn't much time. She'd say she was sorry, but she had to go. Or maybe she just wouldn't go to class at all. Maybe that would be better than walking in late. Oh, who was she kidding? She had to go! He'd notice if she were gone, and she'd be in trouble. Ugh! Why did this always seem to happen to her?

Aoife stopped short as she entered. Someone else was there, and she was dancing. She was so pretty, Aoife forgot about having to pee. Her parents danced sometimes. They'd taught her how when she was young. Her father used to let her stand on his feet while he taught her all sorts of moves. Her parents said she was good at dancing. Not as good as Colleen, but Aoife didn't mind. She loved to watch Colleen dance. This girl sort of reminded her of Colleen, and she was a Hufflepuff just like Aoife. Aoife hadn't met many other Hufflepuffs. Only her dorm mates and a few others. Aoife was torn. Part of her wanted to run, to find an empty bathroom where she wouldn't have to talk to anyone. Another part of her wanted to dance. If she closed her eyes, she almost thought maybe she was at home, listening to the music playing.

"Hi," Aoife whispered when the girl called out to her. She screwed up her courage, her voice so soft she could barely hear it. "Can I... Would you... Do you mind if I dance, too?" Aoife blushed deeply. She would say no. Of course, she would say no. She would laugh in Aoife's face. Aoife stood her ground. "Please?"

Aoife laughed as they danced, feeling happy for the first time since she came to Hogwarts. Well, except for when she was with Colleen. This girl reminded her of Colleen a little bit. Maybe she could introduce them later. Aoife smiled at her, still giggling a little as the girl said her name. Mia or Charlie? Aoife wondered which she preferred because Aoife would call her that. She'd heard of people going by different names with different people before. Her mother's name was Fiona, but her father nearly always called her Fi.

"I'm skipping Charms," Aoife said softly, her smile fading as the nervousness that came with rule breaking reappeared. If she got caught, she'd be in so much trouble! And Professor Michaels would definitely be cross. Maybe she'd find him after class and apologize. Maybe she should go to the hospital wing and say she had a stomachache. Then at least she'd have an excuse. And it wasn't entirely untrue. Now that she realized she was definitely skipping class, her stomach was a little upset.

"I didn't mean to skive," Aoife explained. It seemed important to explain. She didn't want Mia-or-Charlie to think she made a habit of skiving off her classes. "Only I just came from herbology and I had to go, but there was no time. You're a really good dancer." Aoife blushed a little, not sure where that last part came from, except that she was thinking it in her head and it somehow came out of her mouth. She hated it when that happened, but at least she could talk to this girl. Sometimes Aoife wasn't sure what the difference was in people she could talk to and people she couldn't. Her mother said maybe it was that her soul recognized kindred spirits. Aoife thought that must be it. That Mia-or-Charlie was a kindred spirit.

"My name's Aoife," Aoife said softly. "Aoife O'Brien." Aoife smiled a small smile, feeling herself relax. Mia-or-Charlie was a kindred spirit, after all. "It's nice to meet you... erm... do you like to be called Mia more or Charlie more?"

Aoife smiled a little at her new friend, blushing slightly at the compliment. Maybe skiving off class wasn't so bad. She wouldn't make a habit of it, of course. She liked learning things. She liked her classes. Most of them, anyway. History of magic was awfully boring. Maybe she could skive off that one. Professor Binns would never notice, and all he did was repeat what was in the book anyway... monotonously, at that.

Charms was probably the worst class to skive, really, and not only because it was her favorite class. It was awfully easy to fall behind, though Aoife was so interested in the subject she'd worked ahead. She wouldn't need tutoring, she didn't think. She could have used some in Herbology, though. She seemed to have an uncanny ability to kill plants. They seemed to droop whenever they saw her coming. She was starting to think they were doing it on purpose, just to make her feel bad. And she did. Every time she killed a plant, she felt a tiny pang of grief. She briefly wondered if Mia was any good at that, but she didn't want to ask. Mia was probably far too busy to go around tutoring hopeless plant killers.

Aoife looked up at Mia. Having never skived before, she didn't really know what a person was supposed to do. It seemed she ought to take advantage of the unexpected free time to do something fun, but she was afraid that if they left the loo, they'd be caught. That thought did not appeal to her at all, but neither did the idea of staying in a grotty bathroom for an hour. She made a small face and cleared her throat. "You don't have to help me with Charms. I can catch up. I don't want to be a bother. But, I was wondering, erm, what do we do now? Can we leave the loo, or will we be caught?"