The dungeons were very different compared to the third floor, where Damien typically resided in the Salem dormitories. But Imari wanted to show him her dress for the yule ball, so he'd been summoned to make sure their outfits matched. He made a note in the back of his mind to get her flowers that would match whatever color scheme they were going with. Hopefully it'd be something like pink or red, then he could get roses to match. If not, then he would get creative.

He passed some sulky looking Slytherins who were obviously not wanting to be disturbed, Damien hoped they would ignore his purple colored shirt and just keep walking, not minding that there was a Salemite in their territory. He'd heard rumors about the snakes... only half of them were true, somebody had told him, but the trick was figuring out which half.

Damien wondered if the dungeons had ever flooded before, after all, they were partially underneath the lake. He'd heard that there was even a glass wall in the Slytherin dorms that looked out into the lake. That had to be one of the coolest things in the castle, he could only imagine the pressure that was on the wall from the lake...

At half past seven, Damien bounced to a halt in front of where the Slytherin common rooms were. He was right on time, so he waited patiently for Imari.

Imari checked the small clock by her bed in the dorm and realized she was late to meet Damien.  She still couldn't believe that she actually had a date for the Yule Ball.  She stuck the picture of her dress in her pocket and rushed down the stairs and stopped right before she came to the portrait hole.  She brushed a hand over her hair and then calmly walked out of the portrait hole to see Damien standing there.  "Am I late?" she asked nervously.

She wore a green long-sleeved shirt and some black jeans, hoping in the back of her mind that it wasn't too Slytherin for Damien.  "I tried to hurry." she said and then mentally slapped herself.  She wasn't late, she knew that, so why was she blurting out things that weren't necessary.  'Because I'm nervous!' she thought to herself.  She smiled up at Damien and asked, "So, want to go for a walk?" She'd already decided to take him up to the little alcove she had told him about the other day, to show him her dress and just talk for awhile.

"It's okay if you don't want to, we can stay down here if you want." she added on, not wanting to make it seem like she was hoping he'd go for a walk with her, even if that's what she wanted.[1]

1.	Talking with Damien -  that is what she's wearing right now if you are interested.

Without even realizing it, Damien stood up taller and smiled when he saw Imari walk out of the common room. Whatever it was, she just made him happy. He wondered if anyone thought it weird that they looked like total opposites today, one in Salem purple and one in Slytherin green. After all, it seemed like a few of the students at Hogwarts didn't agree with the whole 'be nice to your opponent' sort of thing.

"Sure, we can walk," he said, glad that he could escape the feeling of trespassing onto Slytherin grounds by being down here. He debated against himself whether to hold Imari's hand or not, it seemed like it could be a good idea, but he didn't want to rush anything... but maybe it could take her mind off of whatever she was nervous about.

And yes, Damien could tell that she was nervous. The way her words just blurted out randomly and her awkward but cute way of babbling, it was all nerves. "No, it's alright. I'd love to go," he said, noticing that she was backtracking in a way. But she had a glimmer of hope in her eyes, so Damien reached out to take her hand before they went walking down the hallway.

"Where do you want to walk to?" He asked, maybe Imari had someplace in mind, then again, maybe not.

Imari startled slightly when Damien reached for her hand as they began to walk, but realized that she liked the feeling it gave her, sort of a warmth.  It was nice.  She looked up at him, "I thought I'd show you that alcove I was talking about the other day." she told him and led him towards the stairs, "I hope you don't mind the climb, it's pretty high up." she giggled.

"So, the ball," she began, unsure of how to bring the subject up, "any second thoughts about asking me?" she didn't know why she kept on doing this, it was like she was purposefully trying to stay single.  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ask that." she said and let go of his hand and walked a little ahead of him, the blush rising in her cheeks as she brought both hands up to rest on her cheeks. 

Her inner monologue had started, 'why did I say that, am I stupid, he asked me, he's not going to back out. she turned up the next staircase and was so engrossed in the thoughts running through her head that she didn't notice the staircase beginning to move until it was halfway through it's change.  She put her hands on the railing and looked back at Damien, the tiniest bit of fear in her eyes as she didn't like this at all, she was worried that she was going to fall.

“It’s alright,” he said, enjoying her giggle. It was girly and so very adorable. “I think I can handle climbing up a few flights of stairs, now had we done this on my first day here, I would have cried as I tackled all those stairs.” He joked, remembering the burning sensation in his calves from walking up three flights to get to the dorms on the first day.

“What do you mean, do I have second thoughts?” He said, sort of put out by the idea of having second thoughts. “Imari…” he said, almost in a complaining tone as she let go of his hand and walked ahead. He thought about stopping her, but she needed a minute to cool off. She seemed embarrassed and Damien didn't want to ruin anything by starting a fight.

But then it became clear to him that she really did not enjoy being on stairs when they were moving. And to be honest, Damien wasn't a big fan of it either. A feeling of protectiveness surged through him when he saw the fear in Imari’s eyes, and he instinctively stepped forward to wrap his arms around her waist, holding her close to him. He didn't like the way that made him feel, seeing her upset and scared; he didn't want her to feel like that.

“It’s alright,” he said. “It’ll be over in a minute.” Damien said, hoping that the stairs wouldn't take longer than that to shift around.

Imari felt his hands go around her waist and she leaned back into his embrace and covered his hands with her own until the staircase stopped moving.  "I'm sorry, I've never gotten quite used to the moving staircases.  I've a terrible fear of heights, and it's pretty terrifying when they move." She whispered, but didn't move out of his embrace.  She liked it there. 

"I'm sorry I asked if you were having second thoughts, I'm still getting used to the idea of someone liking me." she told him.  It was the truth, most of the other guys she had almost gone out with, only asked her to get her to help with their homework and then they conveniently found other things to do at the times they were going to meet.

Damien couldn't help but smile as Imari relaxed into him. It seemed so natural for her to fit right there in his arms, and to be so comfortable that she could relax and trust him enough for him to hold her while they moved. "Everyone has things they're afraid of, it doesn't mean you have to face your fears alone." He said softly, not too glad when the staircase stopped moving, it meant he couldn't just stand there with her anymore.

"It's alright Imari," Damien replied. "I'm still getting used to the idea of having such a beautiful girl willingly spending time with me." He said with a smile, spinning her out of her arms and holding her hand as they walked up the steps. "So, how much farther up is this amazing alcove you adore?" He asked, chuckling a bit.

[1]"Almost there, just one more floor, and then, well, you'll just have to trust me." she said with a smile.  "I know everyone gets afraid of something, but I don't usually let people see me when I'm scared.  It's a weakness." she said as she grasped his hand and led him up the last staircase.

"Alright, you're going to have to trust me now." she told him, still holding his hand, but now turned to face him. "Not many people know about this way up to the alcove so I'm going to need you to keep it a secret." She smiled and led him towards a window that opened the whole length of the wall with a murmured spell.  She stepped outside on the ledge and let go of his hand before disappearing.  She stood there for a moment, trying to stifle her giggles, as she knew he would probably be freaking out because she disappeared. [2]

Quickly she popped her head back in and said, "You coming?" with a coy smile.  "There's a small staircase here, well, it's really bricks in strategic places, but it works for a staircase." She pointed at the six bricks jutting out from the wall that led up to a small alcove.  "I'll go first, you just follow okay." she said as she climbed up slowly.  "I know it's weird that I can do this and not be scared, yet I'm scared of the staircases, well, truthfully I fell once, but only a couple of inches, it's like there's a spell here that someone placed to make sure no one falls." She stopped talking as she slid over the side of the little alcove and waited for him.  While she was waiting she transfigured one rock into a loveseat and the other into a fire-bowl[3] . She sat down on the loveseat and waited.

1.	I'm going to say they were almost there, so let's say they are on the 6th floor, but there's a secret way she gets there
2.	I'm just assuming there is something like this at Hogwarts, who knows, even the Weasley twins didn't discover all it's secrets.  And if there is such a thing there, there is probably a spell to keep people from falling.
3.	Looks kind of like this Fire Bowl

"Don't worry, I'm an expert at keeping secrets!" Damien exclaimed as they walked towards the window. Then she stepped out of it, and he got a tad bit worried. "Imari!" He shouted, "Where'd you go!" Did she fall out the window? They were on the seventh floor.... what could possibly make her jump out a window?

She popped her head back up and smiled at him, "Merlin's beard, Imari. You nearly sent me into cardiac arrest." He said, shaking his head and slowly lowering himself down to where she had been moments before. She had already scaled down into the alcove, so Damien took his time trying to make sure he didn't fall off of the bricks. He slid into the alcove behind Imari, noticing she's already sat down and transfigured a fire-bowl.

"This is pretty cool," he remarked, sort of impressed that the girl with the fear of heights could scale a wall and find a secret alcove. He had to admit, he wouldn't of guessed Imari to be the adventurous type. "So," he asked, sitting down next to her, "You were going to show me your dress?"

Imari looked down at her hands before answering, "Truthfully, I discovered this little alcove by accident back in my second year." She took a deep breath, "Some of the other Slytherins had found out about my mum and sister and when they started threatening to plant things in my bed and trunk I left the common room.  I thought that would stop them, but they followed me and I started running, that's when I found this place.  They thought I'd fallen like you did, sorry about that by the way, I didn't mean to scare you."  She took another breath. 

"So I've been using this place to do all of my studying and thinking, and just some quiet time." She looked around, "Sometimes I even convince a house-elf to bring me something to eat up here so I don't have to leave to go to the Great Hall for meals.  It's quite nice."

"Yes, I wanted to show you my dress so that if you wanted to match, at least you'd know what to match to." She told him with a smile as she took a picture out of her pocket and walked over to him from her spot on the loveseat and handed it to him.  "I was going to wear something different, but that was when I was going alone."

Damien stayed quiet as Imari talked, taking the picture silently and looking at the dress. He smiled, it was so perfect, it was so her. "I love it," he said, "I think I'll stick to black then, the classy look." He joked, but only a little bit, he was still hung up on what she had said.

"Did they really... your classmates threatened you?" He said, somewhat in disbelief, picture still in hand. He played with the corner, not wanting to bend the corner but he was distracted and so that's what he did. "That's.... Imari that's awful. I'm so sorry."

"When you say they... found out about your family, how could that make them threaten you?" He burst out, not thinking about his words or their consequences, as usual. Damien jumped up from the couch, "I'm so sorry, that sounds rude, I wasn't thinking... you don't need to answer that."

Imari stayed where she was, but bent her legs underneath her, "It's alright, I knew it was going to come up sooner or later." She took a deep breath.

 "I'm not the ideal Slytherin.  Everyone thinks that Slytherins are supposed to be cool, sophisticated, and from pureblood backgrounds.  I'm not any of that.  I'm shy, quiet, and a halfblood with a muggleborn mother and a squib for a sister."

 She looked up at Damien, "They just don't like things that are different." She sighed and fidgeted with her hands.[1]

1.	I'm sorry it's short

"I know where you're coming from," Damien said with a sigh. And it was true, he'd been victimized and taunted before when he was younger. Middle school had been hell, and life had only gotten better in recent years in high school now that he was allowed to practice magic. Salem was a healthy change for him, and experiencing Hogwarts as a visiting champion was an eye-opener to the world around him, and how similar everyone really was.

He smiled at Imari, "But it's alright. Because I love things that are different, and I adore anything that's not mainstream. Not in a hipster way though, although you might not get that reference..." He said, still finding the Europeans to be amusing when they gave him odd looks about the things he said.

The conversation seemed a bit tense, and Damien wasn't sure he wanted the day to go like this, downhill. In an effort to change the subject, he asked, "Are you in any way allergic to roses? Or flowers?" He knew it sounded like a stupid question, but after he landed his ex-girlfriend in the hospital with anaphylaxis after giving her a bouquet of daisies... well, he didn't need a repeat of that.

Imari knew the question was just to ease the tension in the space they were sitting in, but she answered with a smile anyway.  "No, I'm not allergic to roses, or flowers, and as long as you keep chocolate away from me, I'll be 100% okay." She grinned.  She hated to be the only person she knew that was allergic to chocolate. 

"I hate being the only person I know that's allergic to chocolate, holidays are horrible, watching everyone chow down on chocolate frogs and fudge, while I have to stick to sugar quills and ice mice." She frowned playfully and watched his expression to see what he was thinking.

"Why the question about the flowers?" she suddenly asked.  No, she wasn't allergic, but she had never been given flowers by a boy before and wasn't so sure how she felt about getting them.

"That's awful! I couldn't imagine being allergic to chocolate!" Damien exclaimed, and really, he couldn't imagine it. Every Friday, if he wasn't at school, Damien and his mom would watch movies together. But it wasn't the movie that made it special, it was the hour and a half before hand spent making brownies and homemade hot fudge for ice cream sundaes... chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate.

"And well, the flower question, er..." Damien said, suddenly feeling a bit awkward. "Actually, funny story, well it's not funny at all... I gave an ex-girlfriend flowers and she didn't tell me ahead of time that she was allergic to them. Basically,  I spent the next eleven hours after that in a hospital waiting room... It's not something I'd like to repeat again."

"Anyways, I'll make sure to avoid chocolate in the future." He said, hoping he could remember that during the holidays.