on my radar [NICK]

[DARLA ADRIENNE SELWYN]

It was just beginning to get dark. The sun was setting, players were exiting the quidditch pitch, and the chill on the grounds was setting in. It was a Sunday, and almost everyone was getting ready for dinner, everyone except for Darla. Darla Selwyn, a sixth year Ravenclaw student, top of the class and prefect. She was one looked to guidance and help—she set the example for what was to be expected of other students, and here she was right on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest; ’forbidden’ being the key word. Granted, Darla seemed to live a double life. While she not only caught the students who snuck out of bed and caused the general mayhem throughout the castle, she too was guilty of it all. But she’d earned herself a reputation of simply chasing students back to their dormitories, going along with an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ policy. Yet none of these reasons were as to why this raven haired beauty was breaking the rules.

Actually, it was all in the name of education—honestly. Darla was walking through patches of the forest, making sure not to go too far in. She had a list with her, along with vials and jars in her bag. The sixth year found herself looking at the ground most of the time, squinting to see at times. The light from the sun truly couldn’t puncture the thickness of the wood. With a sigh, she pulled out her wand, ”lumos” she muttered using the tip of her wand as a light. ”Much better… she commented to herself, a smile appearing on her face. She took a few more steps before stopping and pulling out a jar. Boomslang skin…excellent she thought, picking it up and putting it in its container.

Darla repeated this process few more times, gathering porcupine quills, beetles, even a few drops of unicorn blood from a leaf. Simply, fresh potion ingredients, straight from the source. It wasn’t long until she heard what sounded like hooves in the distance. ”nox!” she muttered in fear. Centaurs, creatures she’d only learned about in Care of Magical Creatures. Biting her lip she took a few steps back, waiting for the heard to pass. She went on undetected—something she was silently thanking the heavens for. Yet as Darla was ready to continue her search, she heard footsteps behind her. Was it another creature? No, this was distinctively two footsteps, with a walking pattern. Not something, but someone. The Ravenclaw gripped her wand tightly, ready for the first sign of anything. ”Who are you?!” she called out, waiting for a reply but only in vain. With another beat she called out again, ”Show yourself!” silently praying it was nothing serious.

[NICHOLAS DAMIEN AVERY]

Nick grinned, wiping some mud off his cheek as he hauled his broom over his shoulder. It had been a good practice and he was proud of team mates. Now he was planning on just getting back to the locker room, having a nice shower and then heading up to bed. Good practice sessions entailed tons of hard work and he tired and too lazy to go back up for dinner anyways. He could make up for it with a heavy breakfast. He was just going to go back to the lockers when he saw a small cloaked figure making its way it to the Forbidden Forest. Now, he might be a fun loving, daring guy but he was Head Boy too and it was his job to make sure students, especially young ones didn't do stupid things. Like going to the Forest in the dark.

He handed his broom to one of his teammates to put back in his dorm and made his way to the forest, frowning. So much for showering. He could clearly see that it was a girl and not even that young a one. He followed silently, waiting to see exactly what she was going to do, when he heard the sound of hooves. He watched her turn off the light and hid himself behind a tree, keeping quiet. When the sounds had passed, he continued to follow her, until he heard her freeze and call out. That's when he finally recognized her. He sighed, shaking his head. As much as he cared for her, she could be so careless sometimes.

He reached out and grabbed her, pulling her into the safe shadow of the leaves, putting a finger to his lips. "What on earth are you doing in the Forest? After dark!" he said, whisper yelling as he held her hand tightly and waited for another herd of centaurs to pass by. "You know it's dangerous!"

[DARLA ADRIENNE SELWYN]

Her palms were starting to sweat, affecting the general hold she had of her wand. It truly was the worst feeling, knowing that at any moment, it could just slip from your hand. The girl tightened her grip on the device as the figure simply came closer. Then she smelled him, from a few feet away..mind you, it wasn't a pleasant smell either. More of an odor- but a recognizable one nonetheless. It was Nick, straight from the quidditch. "Of course..." she whispered lowering her wand in the process. He would be the one to find her, head boy and all.

She froze for a moment, as she was still unable to make out his face. His silhouetted stance was the same, as was that unbearable odor a la quidditch-- but it could still have been any tall male. Quickly however, Darla was pulled into the shadows, a finger cleverly on her lips. It was Nick, only he would know to do that first thing...as Darla would have spoken up. He whisper yelled at her, lecturing her for going off into the forest. She looked in his eyes, the only things she could really make out in the dark. With a sigh she began to explain herself, only interrupted by another heard of centaurs.

The young witch bit her lip, waiting for a good moment to explain herself, but finding that there was no real time for discussion this deep in the wood. Darla grabbed his hand firmly, leading them closer to the edge of the forest. She continued walking for only a few moments, until they were again in the light. "Look I'm sorry. Honestly, I was alright, I wasn't looking to be rescued. I needed potion ingredients, and do you truly expect me to use the ones from Diagon Alley? They're aged!" she retorted, defending herself and mental reasoning for even entering the forest.

[NICHOLAS DAMIEN AVERY]

Nick let her take his hand as they walked towards the edge of the forest again. By now all the mud caked on his robes was getting stuck to leaves and he was starting to get irritated. He really needed a shower. As they walked back, he watched Darla quietly. She still looked a bit shaken by the way he'd sneaked up on her but that fact that it had only been him had obviously been reassuring. He interlinked his fingers with her, pulling her a little closer. He found it odd that as much as he was proud of her for being such an independent young woman, he still found himself wanting to protect her.

From a young age, he'd always been a protective person, looking out for his sisters and now that he had her too, he wanted to make sure nothing happened to her. "Sure you were. Which is why you practically dropped your own wand when I came up behind you," he retorted but not with any sign of anger or annoyance. He managed to crack a small smile though as she explained herself. "I know you weren't and I wasn't rescuing you. I am Head Boy. I didn't know it was you."

He chuckled at her innocent expression and nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Okay. I'm not pissed or anything, you know. Just don't come here in the dark. You never know who might attack you," he joked, grabbing her waist and pinning her against a tree. "There are bad things in the woods," he smirked, kissing her cheek.

[DARLA ADRIENNE SELWYN]

Darla was actually surprised as to how far into the forest she’d ventured. It didn’t seem too far, as such she spent half her time in there looking at the ground. But here she was now, the edge of the wood with Nick in hand. She blushed a bit as he laced there fingers together, pulling her closer. She hadn’t known how mad he was, if he was mad at all, but this relieved her immensely. Still, it was somewhat irritating that he had to come get her. She was fine, she knew she would have been fine. That was the thing about Darla though—she was independent: she could take care of herself; no damsel in distress here. As they continued walking, the sound of dragged leaves was increasingly getting louder. Stopping near the trees by the pond’s edge she turned to him. ”You have something there…’scourgify’” she said pointing to his robes before using her wand in hand to clean the dirt and mud.

”I did not drop my wand!” she quickly defended at first not realizing that it was more of a joke. But she continued listening, her defenses along with her body language noticeably easing. ”I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to put you in any sort of awkward position.” she apologized, biting her lip. Her eyes had that innocent dowey eyed look about them. Darla knew his instincts, he was naturally protective. A sisters were the prime example—if anyone even spoke about them in a negative way, a hex was soon to be expected. His face changed though. It was brighter, and a small smile was growing across his lips.

Nick began to joke with her, telling her not to come in the dark or she could be attacked. Then she found herself pinned up against a tree, her boyfriend kissing her cheek. ”Bad things?” she repeated, a brow raised. On a beat she quickly changed position, doing her best to pin him against the tree, though somewhat unsuccessful. It was more humorous to see the petite girl pinning up an older boy of a chaser’s build. Still, her grip was tight. ”I think you need to be careful as well. Bad things…” she said with a smirk before kissing him once more.

[NICHOLAS DAMIEN AVERY]

Nick was more annoyed than pissed. It wasn't that he was feeling particularly possessive or anything. He knew Darla could look out for herself and he was proud of it. She wasn't like those other girls who hid behind their guys and were too weak and scared and needed to be taken care of. It's just that, she was so brave, she sometimes tended to do things without thinking twice. Now, on any given day if he'd found her in the Forbidden Forest he'd have teased her a bit, for being all dare devil - like.

But it was dark and cold and wet and if she didn't get attacked, she'd at least fall sick. His annoyance was on the point of vanishing though, because he relaxed as she came close. When they reached the edge and she cleaned up the mud, he said, "No, why didn't I think of that? Right, because I wanted to have a bath. Care to come along?" he asked, teasing her and letting her know he wasn't angry.

"I know, I know," he said, groaning at the innocent look on her face. He might not admit it, but big bad Nicholas was whipped. Instead he held out his arm, shaking it and putting a scared look on his face, in an exaggerated imitation of how scared she'd been. "Sure. 'Who is it? Show your s-s-elf!' " he mimicked in a high pitch, screechy tone and then burst out laughing.

"Yep. Very bad," he said, a seductive smile on his face but he found himself against the tree, her petite body holding him there. He relaxed, letting her have her fun as he let her pin him there. And he wasn't complaining about the tight hold she had on him. He found it very sexy. "Now, I'm scared..." he murmured, groaning into the kiss and breaking her tight hold easily so that he could pull her closer to him. He'd come here, hoping to chastise her and he found himself thinking of nothing else but her soft lips and warm skin on his.

[DARLA ADRIENNE SELWYN]

”No, you didn’t think of that because…you just simply didn’t think of it!” she teased, giving him a cheeky smile. ”But if you do find yourself in the prefect’s bathroom later, I might happen to drop by…” she added, her usually innocent eyes hinting a glimmer of mischievousness. It was the teasing like this that made Darla so drawn to Nick. Well, the teasing, the way he looked at her, the way he touched her…alright it was actually everything about him, but regarding his personality—the teasing was a major part of it.

The brunette’s mouth went open and her general thought process of ‘how-dare-you’ began to show itself, but she said nothing. She knew his impersonation was a bit more exaggerated than she had been prior, but it was what she said. ”You’re simply lucky I didn’t hex you right then and there. I doubt you’d be as cheerful as you are now!” She was right, and she knew she was. Darla’s spells, especially her hexes were nasty. It was a good thing she didn’t perform her go-to spells, she’d have to take him back to the hospital wing, and he was already there once this week.

Darla couldn’t help herself from the opportunity. It was secluded, dark, and they were together. She’d pinned him up against the tree and she knew just how sexy she was being, she could feel it. When he broke her hold she was pulled closer to him, only intensifying the moment. The young Ravenclaw went from playfully biting his lip to kissing his neck, the overall passion and intensity between them growing. Though still in the moment of it all, she stopped, hearing hooves from inside the forest once again. ”Maybe we should go somewhere else?” she whispered, gesturing towards the sound.

[NICHOLAS DAMIEN AVERY]

"Sure you will. Who wouldn't if they knew sexy Nicholas Avery was having a bath?" he asked, teasing her as he looked back at her with equal mischievousness. This is the side of Darla he loved the most, the confident, flirty, sexy side. She knew just what she wanted and how and he was always ready to comply. They were so alike when they came to it, that it was almost impossible for the heat and passion to not hit the roof when they were together. "I'll be waiting," he winked.

"I knew that was coming," he said, slightly serious, even though he was laughing. He kept some distance between them just in case she did change her mind and decide to hex him. He was glad she kept her wand to herself though because at such a crucial time of the game season, he didn't need to be in the Hospital Wing for reasons such as 'I teased my girlfriend and she put me in the hospital'. Instead, he held her hand lightly, hoping to mollify her.

He let his eyes close as she teased him and tightened his hold. He grinned, fingering the strings of her cloak as she pulled him closer and he momentarily lifted her off the ground. He had no choice but to let her down again in a few seconds when sh pulled away. "Who cares, they're not coming this way," he muttered, leaving kissed down her neck and pulling open her cloak as he pushed her backwards under more tree cover. It was nearly completely dark now and they could barely see each other.

ooc- I don't want him to find out her secret in this thread, since they're actually having a nice time for once. I made him suspicious in the hospital wing. Okay?

[DARLA ADRIENNE SELWYN]

”The very sexy Nicholas Avery” she complimented in her kiss. There was no denying, he was sexy. His eyes, his body, the way he moved. He knew what he wanted and how to get it; that was one of the most attractive things about a person. The fact that Nick wanted to be better, and expected a high quality from himself—his drive and ambition, Darla was so drawn to it. The young Ravenclaw closed her eyes, his cool fingers running along the strings of her cloak. Very quickly he was in full control, lifting her off the ground and even closer. This was perfect. He was strong and almost overpowering, but it was so seductive that she couldn’t help but to continue. After he eased her worry, moving her into better cover, the passion between them was fully ignited, and she found herself egging him on, forever wanting more.


fade to black

[NICHOLAS DAMIEN AVERY]

-Fade back-

Nick exhaled deeply, lying on the ground for a few seconds, his arms around his girlfriend. The stars were out now and it was completely dark and he was still breathing deeply. Every time was like the first time, the passion, the love, the sheer luck of it all, of being in each others arms. He could never forget this, ever and he never would. He kissed the top of her head. For a full five minutes he lay on the bed of leaves, before realizing that the floor of the forest wasn't the most comfortable. He sat up, brushing some dirt off, before looking around for his shirt and tossing hers to her.

"That...was brilliant," he said, leaning down to kiss her slowly. It wasn't heated but just as passionate and he had to remind himself that this was not the place or time for a second round. "Let's get back, before somebody realizes we're here," he said, grinning.